This is what starting a business looked like for me 14 years ago.
I left my high-paying, comfortable 9-5 for the allure of being an entrepreneur.
My five-year-old daughter on my right side, my newborn son in my arms, and an endless list of prospects to call, projects to deliver, overhead to cover, employees to hire (or fire), emails to return sleepless nights, and very long days.
It was exhilarating and exhausting all at the same time.
It wasn’t until many years later that the hustle and grind caught up to me.
I was burned out despite owning, running, and growing a multi-million dollar business.
Someone commented to me how great it was that I was so “successful.” I stopped in my tracks because I didn’t feel successful.
I thought to myself, “THIS is success?”
The following day I poured a cup of coffee and began the deliberate process of defining what success needed to be for ME:
1. I slow down my mornings, eat breakfast with my children and walk them to school.
2. I work with clients and people I enjoy working with.
3. I stop working by 6:00 pm. I enjoy my evenings with my family.
4. I prioritize my health because my wealth cannot buy good health.
It was so simple and so freeing and has stayed this way since then.
Decide what success is for you and protect it without apology.