I was sitting at my desk this morning drinking my 4th cup of coffee, I had just hung up with my 80 year Mom in Florida and as usual the conversation culminated with the same dreaded question “When you coming down to visit son? It’s been three years now.”
I was thinking how pitiful I was had it really been three years since Pop died and when was my last real vacation? I was in the regular work force once upon a time I got paid every Friday got three weeks vacation a year, had about 70 sick days saved up, even had full medical and Dental insurance had me just a stellar retirement package too. Fact of the matter if I had stayed in the work force I’d be retired by now living off that great benefit package. Feeling just a tad low and miserable I asked myself how did I get like this. My reflection took me back twelve years ago I was 42 years old and had been in the work force since I was a teenager.
I remember I was sick and tired of working for the Boss-man and I had this really cool idea to start my own company I was always day dreaming about how my life would be if I could just drop the shackles of being a worker bee. But the reality factor always kicked in I could never leave the protective embrace of the work-force breast that nurtured me through economic woes and paid my mortgage, the children’s doctor bills and even allowed a meager little nest egg for their educations. Ah! The work-force she is a savage mistress maybe even a bit of a dominatrix. Enter my lovely wife who is a true believer in the entrepreneurial spirit she sat me down and told me; “Honey if you don’t try this idea of yours you’ll never know if it would succeed or not, besides I don’t want no cranky empty feeling old man for a husband in another thirty years OK”
Long story short when some guys have their mid-life crisis they buy a vintage Corvette and a toupee, me I quit my job and became a 42 year old entrepreneur and for the first five years I worked 18 hours a day instead of 8 and the next five years was closer to 12 hours a day. I hardly had time for anything but I had the support of my wife and family. You may ask was it an easy transition? No…Hell no looking back I went through periods of absolute numb boredom to high states of pure panic. Well did you get rich? No! But we are very comfortable. Plus my work load gets less and less as I delegate out as many chores as I can and I treat my employees better that I was treated and I think they are happy.
Some entrepreneurs cope with the stress by drinking copious amount of scotch or enduring painful hours at the gym. I have done both at different periods in my new career, being an entrepreneur is not for everyone it’s a lifestyle almost like a religion you have to believe in your dream and most importantly yourself. I have also learned and seen with a few of my friends that entrepreneurial ship can be an evil mistress as well just like the work-force you must know and trust yourself I wish you good luck. Me well I gotta call the airlines and book a flight to sunny Florida, I wonder if Mom will make me that special cheesecake like when I was a kid.
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