Entrepreneurs are different than most people. We are visionaries. We see what isn’t there…yet. We see the open space in the marketplace. We know our product or service is the solution to a problem. We are creative, resourceful, and driven. We own risk, wearing our bumps and bruises as our badge of courage, our lessons learned. Still standing, we face another day, immersed in the struggle and the intention to serve. We won’t deny our obsession, and family and friends who love us anyway, simply have to tolerate and forgive our infrequent connections and whatever else may appear as simple self-absorption. We are here to change the world.
For more than 30 years, I lived in the trenches of my small ‘from scratch’ business that mushroomed into a multi-million dollar company. I didn’t know then how many ways there were for me to fail. I learned what I needed to know, and stayed one limp ahead of the growth. When the company was sold, I grieved for a long while, missing my staff who became family, customers whose praise validated our efforts on a daily basis, and a pace that made my heart race. Today, I serve aspiring or struggling entrepreneurs because I was both.
After one of my speaking engagements, the usual Q and A followed. One woman, sitting in the front row, her voice so quiet I could barely hear her, dared herself to ask the question that others didn’t : “How will I know when it’s time to leave my 9-5 job…and just go for it?” Her eyes were at half-mast. She was weary. Waiting is exhausting. I answered her as directly and as kindly as I could: “When you can’t stand another day, another hour of waiting for your life to begin. When the ache inside for aliveness is so strong you know you are dying instead of living the life you were meant to live, the life you deserve. You’ll know then. You’ll be willing to pay the price, take whatever risk is needed because otherwise, you know you are settling for less. Wasting time will be your biggest regret.”
You know who you are. Be true. Claim your dream. What are you waiting for?
As an award-winning entrepreneur of a multi-million dollar company that started ‘from scratch,’ Susan Brooks consults with individuals and companies . She is also an international speaker and author of two books and volumes of published columns. Empowered leadership and Service Enthusiasm is her specialty. Contact Susan: www.servesyouright.net.
