Aug 26, 2020
For most entrepreneurs, when asked why they want to be in business for themselves, the word freedom usually is at the top of the list. Although the definition of freedom means different things to different people, it's that strong desire to achieve freedom that seems to drive most entrepreneurs.
But being an entrepreneur is hard work and, at times, it doesn't feel like you have much freedom. There are many occasions where you may feel drained of time, energy, and money. Even overwhelmed with the whole process.
Then, something significant happens.
Something happens that jerks you out of the day-to-day grind of your business. An event that will reveal that all the hard work you're doing is worth it.
That's what happened to me just a few short days ago. Listen to this episode as I share what made me drop everything in an instant and drive a 12-hour overnight car ride.
When something like this happens, I realize that it's times like these that I really appreciate the hard work in starting a business that I love, working with clients I adore, and creating a lifestyle where I have the freedom to enjoy life on my own terms.
At first, being a business owner doesn't feel like there's much freedom at all. It seems like you're working 24/7 with little to show for it. Especially if you're used to working for someone else, your mindset is in the place of trading dollars for time. And when you're in that mindset, you tend to calculate how many hours you're working compared to what income is coming in...it can be disheartening.
That's why, little by little, you create systems. Systems that for the short-term may be hard and time-consuming to implement, but over time the collection of little systems evolves into bigger systems and then even bigger systems. Soon, things start to get easier. Soon freedom peeks through.
Creating systems is a mixture of thinking about what you're doing right now and forward-thinking about how things should be in the future. And it all happens with one system at a time.
What's your "why"? What's your primary driver that keeps you going when things in your business may be hard?
If you're feeling overwhelmed because you're pushing yourself...
Who am I kidding? All of us who are entrepreneurs are always pushing ourselves to do more and achieve more. It's time to step back and take a breath and truly appreciate your reason why you're creating your lifestyle you want.
Thanks for listening. Until next time...have a fantastic week.