Being an entrepreneur is tough. From the outside looking in, i.e friends, family members and society to an extent, it’s a sweet gig. In conversation people often project their ambitions and goals upon entrepreneurs. People will immediately think financial success aka you must be or will be very rich. They might also think you have an abundance of time or have a lot of fun. While those may be true, there are 3 truths of being an entrepreneur that most people do not realize. Hell, some entrepreneurs don’t even realize because they are living the hustle. So let’s go through them…
No, life is not a game of baseball. No, you are not playing baseball for a living (although that’s a sweet job). And no, you are not selling peanuts and cracker jacks (unless you have a new idea for a peanut and cracker jack start-up). What I’m referring to is failure. In baseball, you are considered hall of fame worthy if you fail 70% of the time, or succeed 30% of the time for the optimists. It’s a game of failure, determination, and mental toughness. Sound familiar? If you are an entrepreneur it should. While entrepreneurs live their lives to achieve a goal, vision, and passion it is often a long journey filled with failures. The beauty of baseball is that every day you have the opportunity to change. You might strike out 5 times on Tuesday then hit 3 homeruns on Wednesday. Being an entrepreneur, just like being a baseball player, requires mental toughness and willingness to accept failing but not succumbing to failure. Study why a failure happened, learn from it, then go out and hit three homeruns the next day.
Most people are M-Fers. Ok, for those with a different definition for that abbreviation let me clarify before I get angry emails. Most people are Monday (M) to Friday (F) workers (ers). They have a routine, a schedule and very much look forward to the weekend to recharge. Not entrepreneurs. There is no weekend because a week consists of tasks, challenges and goals not days. In fact, most dread the weekend because that means people that are needed to further a task or goal are typically off limits because they are M-Fers and are recharging. A lot of entrepreneurs lose track of days and even time because they focus on achieving a vision that is not governed by time. Passion for success doesn’t care what day of the week it is. But the human body does. This leads to fatigue and burn out. So next time you ask an entrepreneur how was your weekend, don’t be surprised to hear back “what’s a weekend?”
Depending on which stats you look at anywhere from 12-14% of US business are start-ups. While that might seem like a lot, it really isn’t. Being an entrepreneur is very difficult because it’s hard to find like minded people to interact with. That’s why entrepreneur, mastermind, and social media groups are so popular. Entrepreneurs are very driven and passionate people. It’s a unique group of people that feed off a collective energy. Remember, life is baseball and filled with failure. Entrepreneurs need to be around other like minded individuals for reminders that’s failing is not failure. Even the most successful entrepreneurs need motivation, support and to be around like-minded people.
Ok those are my three truths of being an entrepreneur. Did I miss any? Do you agree or disagree? Let me know in the comments below, tweet me @therapyinsiders or email me gene@devbox.updocmedia.com!
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Dr. Gene Shirokobrod
Co-founder, UpDoc Media    |
