Being an entrepreneur requires many things, including focus, clarity, discipline, talent and creativity, as well as perspective and the ability to see the big picture. This means that you have to be able to see the long range implications of every decision you make for your business. It also means that you have to be able to see past the challenges and the responsibilities that lie before you as you grow.
In the perfect world, you would create your perfect work schedule, work with clients that thrill you, never have to work weekends, and you would experience steady, even growth from year to year. It would also mean that everyone that worked for you would be a smashing success. Personally, I don’t live in a perfect world, and I have never met anyone who has! There will be times in the life of your business where you experience what seems like the perfect world, but, more likely, there will always be something that needs addressing or fixing.
We have a saying at All Canadian Fitness that goes, “Do what you have to do, until you can do what you want to do.” Basically, we are saying that to be successful, you sometimes have to roll up your sleeves, get your hands dirty and just do what needs to be done, regardless of whether you want to do it or not.
I can remember a time where a trainer with a full client load quit with three days notice! For the next month, I worked 12 hours every day while I searched for and interviewed trainer candidates. Not exactly what I wanted to do, but, definitely what I had to do.
While there is a certain amount of romance in the idea of sacrificing and digging in to get things done, there lies a great danger if you cannot reconcile that the sacrifice is for a finite amount of time. Too many entrepreneurs never get out of the mindset of being the one responsible for everything and get stuck in that slave-like role. Rather than getting stuck in that limited mindset, use the “temporary” situation as fuel. Do what you have to do. Enjoy it. Then get angry about it.
Anger, used as fuel, can be valuable. It can provide us with the motivation to get to the place where we want to be. If you can control this powerful emotion, it will also serve as a reminder of the place that you want to get away from. We often hear about goals and how they drive us to reach them. Rarely will we hear about driving ourselves away from uncomfortable, less-than-perfect situations by using controlled anger, but there is great value in the realization that we can propel ourselves to great heights by recognizing this very thing.
As an entrepreneur looking for success, live a life of gratitude. Place value in work ethic. Enjoy the struggle as much as the outcome, and embrace your challenges. When it is time to do what it takes, do it gladly, with energy and with zeal. At the same time, get mad. Do what you have to do. Channel you anger and energy, and propel yourself to a great, less-than-perfect place, where you can do what you want to do.
Ernie Schramayr is an ACE-Certified Personal Trainer and the owner of All Canadian Fitness, a private training studio in Hamilton, Ontario (www.allcanadianfitness.com).
