It's Friday night at 10:30 and I got hit with the need to write so voila. That's kinda how it goes with running your own creative business- your work brain never fully turns off. And there's always something work related you can do. Which makes not doing work and not feeling guilty about it a daily practice.
So here I am in my bed, wearing- deep breath- sweatpants I have owned since high school. Yup. And I know this because there's something written on the butt of them (so sorry stylist friends!). And I feel like this is a pretty good summary of what entrepreneurship looks like for most people. (I know some of you still own wordy butt pants you secretly wear!) But seriously it's not about this sexy lifestyle that we see on Instagram. I don't really know where all these super fit moms wearing matching bikinis with their kids or super rich dudes making Youtube ads showing off their mansions hang out but those aren't the entrepreneurs I know.
The entrepreneurs I know are real people, who show up as humans and make big differences in the lives of the people they work with. They still struggle with things we all struggle with- money matters, relationship matters, family matters, career choices and the always present question of "How much coffee is really too much coffee?!"
And sometimes it feels like we're all a little crazy living in this entrepreneurship bubble, especially when you realize you have friends who literally can only do their work AT work and you're like MIND BLOWN. (And if you're like "But entrepreneurs have so much free time!" Uh no we have exactly 24 hours of opportunity to work every day. See sentence 1 for example.)
So why do it? Why take the risks that come with it? (Besides the chance to make tons of money, obviously.) Because I can't NOT do it. I really don't know what else I would be doing right now if I hadn't started a business 6 years ago, and then another 2 years ago. I know for sure that I wouldn't be as fulfilled. That's probably been the biggest blessing I've received from all this. Pure joy and fulfillment from the people I work with. Whether it's a client sharing a testimonial where we both end up crying tears of joy and gratitude, or squealing with excitement over the goals we've laid out. Or flying across the country to speak about mindset at a conference full of college professors and having someone come up to me after to say "I have to give you a hug, this was exactly what I needed to hear today." or another professor asking to interview me for her new book. Or jumping on Facebook live to do a video on the fly and having people say THANK YOU and that the message was helpful. Or that I helped transform someone's mindset around money and they're now charging what they truly want to and making a living with their art.
I feel like I have no choice but to do this work. And while it's challenged me in SO many ways, there's nothing I'd rather be doing. Every moment of connection and impact supersedes every moment of fear, doubt, frustration, and hustle that I've had.