Normally when I write my blog I sit down with my phone or start up the PC and just smash it out. Sometimes I have a rough draft that I’ve been working on, or just one line (or word), but mostly I just wing it. Today, however, nothing. I stood at my desk and wrote some utter crap (worse than this!) and deleted it, then did it again. I’ve been working too much, too much noise in the factory, not enough beach, not enough time to myself (oh boo hoo, poor me, I know. sorry)
What did I do after deleting the crap for the fourth time? I sat down with my journal and a tall glass of lemonade and did what I am always banging on about. I wrote my three pages and within ten lines I worked out what I wanted to write about. I SWEAR TO YOU – journaling is the answer to ALL OF YOUR CREATIVE WOES, and even some non-creative ones!
I’ve been shopping a little lately, mostly Christmas stuff but also weird stuff for the factory like speakers for staff to listen to music (it’s like a nightclub in there some days, a shit nightclub, but still…), stationary, whiteboards, you know, the usual crap…and sometimes the sales person asks me about the business. Three times lately, once I have told them what we do (linen hire), they get all excited and say something along the lines of ‘Oh I so want to start my own business, etc etc, yadda yadda, ra ra ra…’
I get it, I totally do. You’re working your nuts off in a shop or similar for a boss that you rarely see, you’re getting minimum wage, you’re working weekends and nights. I get it because I have staff and I HAVE BEEN STAFF. You want to know if you’re working so hard that you’ve got something to show for it. Everyone wants to do something worthwhile and maybe leave a legacy and everyone wants to maximise their impact in the time they have in this life.
Then the fear kicks in. There is NO WAY I could be writing if we hadn’t spent the last 20 years building businesses and we are by no means out of the woods yet. It’s hard. Working for someone else at least I could take vacations at Christmas…
Going out on a limb may get you the fruit, but it can also result in a face plant in the soil beneath. We’ve had some tough times for sure and everyone we know has had failures and catastophes in their business history.
But if you don’t give it a try, you’ll die wondering and that would be sad.
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