The Entrepreneur Rollercoaster

If I could tell you everything that has happened both personally and professionally for me over the past few weeks and months, you would think I’m crazy. Fortunately for you, we don’t have that much time so I can’t explain everything, but I want to shed some light on recent events that I hope another entrepreneur can relate to.

Being an Entrepreneur

When you choose to become an entrepreneur you have no idea what it’s like until you’re actually in the game. Same goes for playing a sport; you can talk a big game yelling at the TV, but when it comes to stepping on the playing field you get a whole other feeling and perspective. That feeling of holy crap this is a whole lot harder than it looks from the outside.

Entrepreneurship and playing a sport at a high level are very similar, which is one reason why athletes usually make great entrepreneurs. There are so many highs and lows, wins, and losses that it’s mentally draining to stay focused. I can relate to this because I’ve been a high-level athlete and an entrepreneur, who in a short time has had a lot of highs and lows. Some days are awesome, and I’m super productive when other days I feel deflated and confused with what’s going to come next. I knew this when I jumped into the game, but now I want to bring more awareness to it.

The Dark Days

You need to be prepared to have a lot of dark days being an entrepreneur. Just ask every successful entrepreneur you know how many times they got knocked down, rejected, or told their idea or business was terrible. Then they went out and proved everyone wrong. Rejection is a key fuel to success. If you can’t handle rejection than you aren’t cut out to be an entrepreneur.

Making a Difference

I’m in the middle of my second venture and this one I have a deep passion for and want to make a real impact on the world. I want to help people around the world make better lifestyle choices by incorporating proper nutrition and fitness into their life no matter where they are located. It has been a rollercoaster ride of emotions, and I’m so thankful to have my wife help keep me grounded. She puts up with me when I get excited about something, and when I get stressed about stuff. So I owe a thank you to her. Again, the rollercoaster life of an entrepreneur.

Ups and Downs

I’ve gone through so many ups and downs in my life that I know if I stick with something long enough, good things will come. I’m not a quitter. I didn’t quit on the ice playing hockey, nor will I quit on building my businesses. You got to have that drive to succeed in you no matter what. Perseverance needs to be engraved in your head because that’s going to be a key for you

I want to share a situation I experienced recently. We as a company got rejected from something that would have helped us tremendously build our company further with a supply of resources and funding. Let’s just call it an incubator program. After getting rejected, I was a little bitter (who isn’t when they lose), but I knew going in that it wasn’t up to me, and I did everything I could.

In life, everything happens for a reason. That night I didn’t choose to contemplate if my company was still something valid to pursue, or whether I should start rethinking my strategy for the company. Instead, I said it’s probably for the best. I kept a positive attitude and moved on because I knew deep inside we have something special with our business.

Little would you know a few days later on a Monday of all days when you least expect anything good to happen. I get an email saying our company got accepted into stage 2 of a program that could be life-changing for my family and our business.

In a matter of days, I went from being rejected and laughed at, to getting an email presenting an opportunity worthy of serious consideration. This is the life of an entrepreneur and hopefully, some of you reading this can relate to the ups and downs I’ve experienced and continue to experience.

Advice

A word of advice for you is that no matter how many lows you have, make sure you celebrate any size win you get. Anything from securing a new client, to getting a thank you from a partner. Those tiny wins added up over time will equal a big win because you chose to stick with it. By celebrating those small wins you will get a much-needed morale boost, and being an entrepreneur we need as many of these as possible. Be positive and know when to stop and celebrate. This will help fuel your long entrepreneurial journey.

I hope this post inspires you to keep building your passion or start building it. In life, there are so many obstacles that will get in your way. You just need to stay strong and know that it’s a part of the process. I’ve chosen to stare at my failures and unexpected outcomes with a smile because it’s a learning process. This was a small win for me, so I’m going to celebrate.