Do you ever spend time dreaming about what you want to do with your life? Or, has there been something you’ve been good at your entire life? Something that makes you excited to do it every morning?
First and foremost, there is no right or wrong answer. You can choose to do anything you want to do, and right now, it’s okay if you have no idea what you want to do. It’s okay to know simply that you want to be an entrepreneur. Or maybe you are stuck in your business and need to pivot?
The lessons I’m going to talk about today will be applicable to ANY state of business.
From One Dream Job to A Dream Life
A recent Success Unfiltered guest of ours, Pete Servold, had always dreamt of being a chef. It had been his ultimate dream and he was actually lucky enough for it to come true. He was working at one of the best restaurants in Atlanta, but starting out he wasn’t making a ton of money. When you start out as a cook or sous chef you expect to make very little because you’re just getting your feet wet.
However, after putting in lots of time, Pete was told that he was going to be promoted to sous chef and would be receiving a raise. Something that he had certainly demonstrated he deserved, through his insane level of dedication. But, after months passing, when Pete asked whether he was going to receive the promotion, the lead chef told him NO, he wouldn’t be giving him a raise.
Pete was crushed, as many of us would be. Pete had worked hard to put himself through culinary school and had come out saying he wanted to work at one of the best restaurants in Atlanta, which he achieved, because he had believed in himself. After spending a bit of time wallowing he realized that he wanted to remain in the food industry but that next time, HE would be IN CONTROL.
It’s easy to think that your life is over when you lose a job or are turned down for a promotion, but a more productive way to look at it is as an opportunity to have more in life. Breaking free of the reigns of a 9 to 5, allows you to create a business you LOVE and a life you’ve only ever dreamt of living.
When Pete met his wife, Sarah, he wasn’t expecting her to help change the trajectory of his life, but she did. She is someone who doesn’t let you settle, so any time Pete would start to struggle with moving forward, she’d push him on. It was ultimately her that spurred him on to create what we now know as Pete’s Paleo (some of THE best prepared paleo food– Trust me, I know).
Pete was working as a sous chef and feeling unfulfilled. He knew his food was good and he knew there was a market for what he could make, but he had NO idea what it would lead to. He quit his job and decided to start making prepared food.
He approached several different crossfit gyms, 45 to be exact. It took 45 NO’s before he finally heard his one YES, but he never ever gave up, because he truly believed in what he could create.
How often do you get started with a business task, only to find out you have no idea what you’re doing. You are stumped! And, then, how many times do you give up?
The answer should be zero. If you start working on something that you love and that you know you absolutely want to do with the rest of your life, you should never ever give up. You may need to pivot, or change the direction in which you started, but you should never give up.
Doing what you love with your life is one of the best parts of being an entrepreneur. Imagine waking up and getting to sit down at your desk, (or to work at your kitchen counter) and getting to do what you love, maybe even in your PJ’s! Not only will you be happier, but you will look forward to every single day. Isn’t that one of the most important things in life?
Let’s Talk About the Struggle
If you’ve settled on what you want to do as a business owner, you’re one step in. There are lots of other things you will need to consider, and some will be decisions you need to make right away and others will be things that you can wait for.
In Pete’s case he needed to stop making the food out of his home, it was taking over the whole kitchen. So, he found a small kitchen and hired an employee, these few small things helped move his business forward.
You must be strategic and patient. This is not a quick process.
There are going to be times when you want to do ALL. THE. THINGS. to move the needle ahead in your business, but that just won’t work. Focus on what is MOST important and what will move your business the furthest along to your goals.
So, for example, if you’re a Sales Strategist, one of the first things you want to do is start getting your message out there. Start creating content, start building relationships and start providing help to those who need it without expecting anything in return. Those are the types of things that will build a business faster than anything else. And, you do anything that you need to do to move your business along. That’s being a dedicated business owner!
Once you’ve created some momentum in your business, I want to warn you that it will not be smooth sailing from there out. You will have bumps in the road, and you will experience setbacks, some that may even leave you feeling like it’s the end of the world, but every moment that you spend feeling sorry for yourself is a complete waste of time.
Instead, find an activity, or maybe a song, or something that gets you pumped up. Something that can help take you out of any funk you may be experiencing. Do whatever you need to do to feel better! Don’t be so hard on yourself. Don’t waste so much time beating up on yourself, and enjoy the ride.
In Conclusion
Life is really long, you will get lots of opportunities to change habits, and to change, the patterns of the things that you’re doing that aren’t taking you to where you’re going. Now’s the time to start making changes. Do not wait! As I say, there may not be a tomorrow. It’s time to take a stand for what you want NOW!
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