She comes home EVERY day, throws her purse on the bed, lets out a HUGE sigh and just flops on to the bed. She has what she wants but she absolutely HATES it. She has her own company. She has freedom. She has productive days. She is profitable. She has what many business owners DREAM of. Except….she ABSOLUTELY HATES IT!!
She started the business a few years ago and while the high of building a business fed her, she was having a great time. She was excited the day she was able to get out of the home office (read: corner of the kitchen) and rent some shared office space. She was thrilled when she got her first major client. She was ecstatic when the first major revenue milestone fell. She was overjoyed when she was recognized and won a local award for her business progress. But now….she ABSOLUTELY HATES it!
She loved seeing the bank account rise. She didn’t even notice when the clock passed 7pm and she was still working. But then one day, she noticed the clock passed 7pm and she was still working. And she began to wonder why she was still working. She began to wonder about the freedom that she had imagined when she started this business. She began to wonder about the world travel she had fantasized. She began to see a few strands of grey. And now she realizes that she ABSOLUTELY HATES IT!
Her name is Patti and she is not alone. Many business owners get to this place for one simple reason. They have simply created a job where they were the boss. They have created the very thing they were running from. The reason it’s a job is mainly because they didn’t create from the heart. They didn’t create with a WHY. They didn’t create out of purpose. They didn’t create out of passion. They didn’t create out of possibility and contribution. They simply created because they could. That works for a while. But then, the questions begin to come. “Why am I doing this again?”
“Why do I feel so drained?”
“Why do I work so hard?”
It’s funny that when you don’t begin with a Why, you still end up asking Why. That’s the critical question. And though this post is targeting business, the other aspects of life are no different. Why do we do what we do? If we can’t clearly answer that question, then the spark will always die. Then, even as you are IN process, it’s critical to re-evaluate and continually ask the questions in order to be clear that the answer remains the same.
Ask yourself these 10 critical questions:
1. What drives me?
2. What do I dream of accomplishing?
3. Why do I want to accomplish it?
4. What am I willing to do in order to accomplish it?
5. When things get challenging, why will I want to continue?
6. What do I value? or What is important to me?
7. Who do I want to help?
8. Why do I want to help them?
9. What am I willing to do in order to help them?
10. Why am I the person to do this? (What are my skills, resources and expertise?)
What are your answers to some of these questions? I’d love to have you share in the comments below.
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P.S. – If you are asking these questions and may need some help processing them, I’d be glad to set up a 1hr, no cost, strategy session with you. If interested, please reach me via the Contact Page or the Contact Widget on this page.
Those were great questions to ask BEFORE she got here. But, the one question I don’t see on your list- Do I want to build a business or find a way to make some/more money? Because, by not answering this question, Patti got exactly where she is. She never built a business- one that employs others; one that grows skills, process, products, and revenue- she found a way to have no boss.. And, created the worst one known to man. The one who appreciates no boundaries and rewards the practitioner only with money.
Awesome, Roy. Building a business and creating your own JOB are definitely two different things and worth considering before you begin. But, even if you didn’t do it before, I say its not late to do a reset and reframe from where you are.
Great points Robert! I was recently feeling so drained both emotionally and physically and just kept asking myself why I can’t just go get a job! I’ll definitely keep these questions in mind and work on them.
THanks for stopping by and commenting Temmy. Yep, we definitely need to constantly ask the questions.