What Inspires You? Guest Post XII: Jun Loayza

I’ve had many interactions with Jun (online of course) and each time, I am left smiling. He is filled with energy and already doing so much as young entrepreneur. I was part of his Awesome Revolution series, so I was able to interact with him via video and I’m very excited to have him guest posting on What Inspires You, number 13.

Bio: Jun is the Founder and CMO of Future Delivery where he is building Viralogy, the Social Media rank.  His personal blog, Become a Young Successful Entrepreneur, gives a real, unfiltered view of the Startup Life so that current and aspiring entrepreneurs can learn from his successes and mistakes.  He is the host of Awesome Revolution, where he interviews the best millennial bloggers in the nation.  Jun is a contributor for several blogs including Mashable and Personal Branding Blog.  Jun graduated from UCLA with a degree in Economics and Philosophy where he was a brother of Delta Sigma Pi and the founder of Bruin Consulting.  He grew up in SoCal, so if you love to surf or want to learn, definitely reach out!

Blog: Young Successful Entrepreneur Twitter: @JunLoayza

My inspiration is honest, and unique.  Sure, my family and friends do inspire me, but that’s not what drives me to work hard each day and sacrifice blood, sweat, and tears in order to will my company to success.   I would like to own a huge house, drive a fancy car, and relax on the beach all day; who wouldn’t?  But that’s not what truly inspires me.

If I were to sum up my inspiration through a quote, it would be this:

“Here’s to the crazy ones. The misfits. The rebels. The troublemakers. The round pegs in the square holes. The ones who see things differently. They’re not fond of rules. And they have no respect for the status quo. You can quote them, disagree with them, glorify or vilify them. About the only thing you can’t do is ignore them. Because they change things. They push the human race forward. And while some may see them as the crazy ones, we see genius. Because the people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world, are the ones who do.”

Steve Jobs helped create this “Think Different” advertising campaign for Apple in 1996.  I didn’t hear it from Steve though; I heard this for the first time Ben Casnocha in one of his many speeches.

I have always been fueled by an intrinsic motivation to become better and be admired for doing great things.  I’ve always sought out praise, not just from my parents, but from my peers, neighbors, and strangers who I have never met before.

I love the spotlight; I crave it at times.

But it’s not the “fame” that inspires me.  If you asked me to star in an upcoming blockbuster movie, I would have to decline the offer.  I seek the fame that Tim Ferriss, Ramit Sethi, Ben Casnocha, and Gary Vaynerchuk have been able to carve out themselves.  Nothing was ever given to them; they had to work hard, hustle, make mistakes, and create valuable content that people benefit from.

And though I admire them, they are not my source of inspiration.

It wasn’t until my last year at UCLA that I realized I was an entrepreneur at heart.  My mom always preached about the benefits of getting good grades, going to college, getting a stable job, working hard and saving money.  She did a good job drilling it into my head because it took me 21 years to de-brainwash myself.

Looking back, I can now see how wrong the corporate world truly was for me.  I always half-assed every internship or job I ever had.  I always found shortcuts to do things faster so that I could spend time doing things I actually wanted to do.  I hated being managed, but most of all, I felt that I could do my manager’s job better.  Not that I was smarter or more experienced; instead, I chose to challenge everything my managers told me and do things how I wanted to do them.

I’ll be honest: most of the time, my way was actually a less efficient way.  I was young, naïve, and probably too stubborn for my own good.  But what I’ve noticed is that this type of thinking, this refusal to go with the status quo and carve my own path, is what the entrepreneurial spirit is all about.

My inspiration does not come from external forces.  I’ve come to realize that all the motivation and inspiration that I will ever need comes internally.  It’s my personality, my DNA that compels me to do what I love to do, rather than what I have to do.

I commend and admire the entrepreneurs out there who are creating value in society not for the money, not for the fame, but because they no nothing else.  If you asked us what we would be doing if we never had to work another day in our life for money, do you know how we would respond?

“We would be doing the same exact thing we are doing now”

I believe that everyone is born with a special talent; we just have to figure out what it is.  Look deep inside yourself for your source of inspiration, and I promise, you will find that one thing you were meant to do.