Running your own business means you’re stressed out a lot.
You’re always trying to launch that next product, or get that next big client. You’re often engrossed in the day to day problems of your company, and very rarely do you sit back and enjoy what you’ve accomplished.
Every time you open Twitter, you see someone talking about how you’re not working hard enough. You need to move to San Francisco, subsist on Top Ramen, and work 20 hours a day for at least 2 years before you can even get started.
Travis Kalanick sold his first company for 19 million, and started a new one that’s worth billions. He’s only a few years older than me.
Someone else writes an article about how their company is growing so fast they can’t keep up. I read articles by successful people to try to learn from the best, and make myself and my company better. Sometimes I just get overwhelmed and it has the opposite effect.
I recently saw this tweet:
“Success in business is taking care of family and paying your bills without worry. Not making millions.“ @norcross #PrestigeConf
— David Bisset (@dimensionmedia) February 28, 2015
It made me think about what success really means for me. I often get so caught up in how I compare to others, that I forget how good things are.
Even though I always stress about money, I’ve never been even remotely close to not being able to pay my bills. I enjoy the freedom to work wherever I want, and take time off whenever I need it. I get to choose what I work on, and I love what I do. Those are the things that really make me happy.
Will running a multi-million dollar company, or getting a 7 figure exit drastically improve my circumstances? I’m not sure if it would.
If someone else’s company is growing faster than mine, what does that have to do with me?
I still want to grow my company to 7 figures and beyond, and continue to be ambitious. The important thing is to realize that I’m already successful, and I don’t need more to be whole.
I provide for my family and enjoy my life, and that is why I’m successful.
Comments
5 responses to “Success in Business”
Well written. Often the people who publicise their own success the most are the ones who actually have very little to back it up. Like beauty, success is in the eye of the beholder.
Thanks for the reminder Scott. I realized I used the word “anxiety” or “anxious” 5 times in a post yesterday. That’s too many! I need to relax and be glad I get to do something that I love.
Ya Daniel, I am the same way, it’s tough to see past that sometimes. I wrote this post to remind myself mostly 🙂
This. A trillion times.
Thanks Matt!