Last year at this time I was sitting at my desk at my old firm listening to Christmas songs to escape the drudgery of being there. And I don’t even like Christmas songs. I was pining away wondering when the day would come that I could quit and start my new life as an entrepreneur. Well guess what, last-year self? I did it! I quit my old job, I launched my own business and I’ve created a life that I absolutely love! It’s been a rewarding year but definitely not a walk in the park.
Here are 5 valuable lessons I’ve learned from my first year as an entrepreneur:
1. To be humble. I’ve fallen on my face more than a few times this year and I haven’t met some of my goals, namely my financial goals. This has made me appreciate (or at least stop judging) others for the choices they make, whether they choose to ‘work for the man’ or choose security over self-fulfillment in other ways. This goes double in this bleak and punishing economy – things that might have been hard to do before are even harder to do now. So for all those who are clinging to your bi-monthly paychecks, I no longer judge you because now I know how hard it is to make a buck when you’re out on your own.
» Read more: My First Year as an Entrepreneur
As an fledgling entrepreneur, it’s easy to think small. To think that you’re not really all that powerful and that all you need to do is survive and make ends meet. But this is exactly the opposite of how today’s entrepreneurs need to be thinking. In this post-big-business era, there is a call to the new class of entrepreneurs to step up, think big, and make an impact!
Today I had a wonderful lunch with my former colleague Thoko. He just recently got laid off and is looking for new opportunities. Thoko has these innate attributes that put him ahead of most people in his situation. He has an unwavering positive attitude, he’s got an exuberant energy that’s contagious, he’s extremely grateful and he’s passionate about giving back to his community back in Zimbabwe. If you ever meet him, I guarantee you won’t forget him.
If you are, you might as well not read this post. Sayonara.
Did you watch Jim and Pam’s wedding on 
Do you want it all NOW, right NOW? Financial success, critical acclaim, fame? Do you wish you could press a button on the replicator and say “Wild Success” and it would appear in a nice dish with whipped cream on top? I do. We’ve been trained to think that results should be immediate, instant. This despite it being proven time and time again that that’s not at all how it works. The angst doesn’t come from this fact…that things take time. The angst comes when we believe that things SHOULD NOT take time, that they SHOULD be immediate. For some reason we think faster results are better than results that happen over time, naturally and organically. And sure, it makes sense on some level. Afterall, the creditor wants his money NOW, not when you gain financial success and have more than ample money to pay him.
One of the biggest challenges facing entrepreneurs is their own thoughts. Self-doubt, not living up to your own expectations and comparing yourself with others are all examples of thoughts that can poison the entrepreneur. Entrepreneurs seem more prone to these thoughts because they are usually doing something new that lacks an existing support system and definitely doesn’t come with a rule-book. Everyday, budding entrepreneurs have to wake up and make up their own rules, their own schedules, and their own goals. You can see how this constant creating and forging of a new path means making lots of mistakes and causes frequent self-doubt and fear of failure.
You may know Juliette Binoche from movies such as The English Patient or Chocolat. She’s a beautiful and talented actor who speaks and acts in multiple languages. But that’s not why I’m writing about her today. I’m writing about Juliette because she’s shown a great deal of courage lately. She’s not only continued to excel in her 25-year acting career, but in her 40’s she’s expanded her creative self-expression into completely new media such as dancing, painting and poetry. And don’t think she’s done this in the safety of her own private life. On the contrary, she’s gone on a dancing tour around the world and has her paintings and poetry on exhibit in New York.
