One of the Biggest Lies in the Life of an Entrepreneur – #PM72
I just came back from Phoenix where I spent time behind closed doors working with my coaches and colleagues on our businesses.
The meeting started, as many do, with the questions:
- What are some of your successes this year to date? (that was fairly straightforward as we went around the table and shared the highlights!)
- What have been/are your challenges? …..
And that’s what prompted this blog post.
Majority of individuals addressed specific challenges in their business with responses that most of us could easily have “guessed”:
- Staffing
- Employee compensation
- Technology
- Industry trends
- Letting Go
And when it came my turn to share, I felt compelled to come from a different angle. This past year hit me hard when it came to LIFE ……..not business. Of course, there was a significant impact on my business as well. But I really wanted to tell my colleagues about the experience because I knew we were behind closed doors and I knew this would be a confidential ‘sharing’ – the reaction to what I shared is what prompted this blog post.
In brief, for those of you who know my story, I moved to a new city across the country 10 years ago to start a new life (divorced, 57 years old). I had the good fortune to meet a similar-minded entrepreneur – also divorced, living alone, hard worker, Christian woman, etc. – we met and became fast friends. She was also a confidante because being in business is tough, especially as a solopreneur.
My friend was diagnosed with terminal ovarian cancer 4 years ago. She died in March. It was a long, hard battle and I was by her side for all of it – the oncology visits, the chemo, the surgeries, the sale of her business, the loneliness and depression …….all of that and more.
All of that took time. A lot of time. And my business suffered as a result (MY choice – absolutely NO regrets!). I had no time or energy for my business and I was well aware of that.
After she died, I needed to ramp up again. The thing was ………did I want to? No! In discussions with her on her deathbed, I did ask about her biggest regret.
“Buying that business and all the time/energy I put into it” she said. ‘Take heed’ she told me.
For the first 4 months of 2018, leading up to her death, I did nothing to grow my coaching and speaking business. I maintained, barely. It took months for me to figure out what I wanted to do next; who I wanted to be.
I won’t belabor this thought. I do want to make it clear that, at our mastermind meeting, this topic almost took on a life of its own. This is NOT talked about in the world of entrepreneurship or business. We do talk about the superficial things.
THIS needs to be discussed because if we continue to believe that what happens in our personal lives does not impact our business at all, we are sadly mistaken.
IT’S A LIE!
If we continue to believe that we can just continue on, for years and years, and not make time to stop and consider the reality when it comes to our health and happiness in business, it’s a tragedy.
We need to take care of our health (mental, physical, emotional, spiritual).
We need to take care of our happiness (job satisfaction, work/life balance, legacy – time with friends, family and pets).
We need to ensure we have proper supports in place (updated Wills, Power of Attorney, Critical Illness coverage, Long Term Disability coverage)
If we continue to believe that our customers come first, that too is a lie!
How many of you are living this lie?
It’s time to STOP THE INSANITY. You have the power. Just do it. YOUR life depends on it.
