| It is possible to become jaded when it comes to | | | | a problem encountered, a frustration developed or |
| business. You can see the best in people, but most | | | | perhaps an old fashioned crying jag endured. |
| of the time you only really pay attention to the | | | | Yet for every difficulty faced and conquered there is |
| worst. | | | | a heightened sense of fulfillment and joy. The |
| Cranky customers annoy you and late supplies | | | | realization of a dream is not the stuff of fairy tales |
| frustrate. The daily grind associated with marketing | | | | that promise a happy ending. The answers are found |
| wears you out and there are days when you lay | | | | in the hammer and chisel of a sculptor that simply |
| your head on your pillow and wonder if all the hassle | | | | removes the barriers between solid granite most |
| is worth owning your own business. | | | | observe and the masterpiece found within or a |
| There are moments when you may long to go back | | | | woodcarver eyeing a piece of wood that has an |
| in the safety of 9-5 where someone else had to | | | | object of beauty hidden inside. |
| make all the tough decisions and you simply | | | | Business is hard work. You'll pardon me for using |
| performed a job and left it behind at the end of the | | | | artistic analogies, but to me that best illustrates the |
| day. | | | | labor of love that is needed to make a business |
| Owning your own business often means you don't | | | | work. Each step forward is like adding another mosaic |
| have some of the freedoms you may have | | | | to an artistically tiled floor or a piece of colored glass |
| experiences prior to becoming an entrepreneur. And | | | | to a stained-glass window. |
| there will be days when you can feel the proverbial | | | | I guess you could say that business ownership is not |
| boot print where it seems you are prone to be | | | | for the weak willed. If you are easily discouraged you |
| kicked by the circumstances of business ownership. | | | | may want to carefully consider business ownership. If |
| There seems to be an implied promise that when | | | | you are thin skinned then entrepreneurship may not |
| you become a business owner you will find yourself | | | | be for you. |
| in the perfect Shangri-La where every dream comes | | | | If you have been able to face complex life challenges |
| true and every desire is fulfilled. | | | | and have found the strength to endure and thrive in |
| This is an inadequate picture of business ownership. | | | | the midst of great difficulty then you may have had |
| The truth is there will always be more work than you | | | | a potent preview of business ownership. You will |
| thought possible, more joy than you have ever | | | | likely experience great joy in your business |
| experienced and perhaps a better nights sleep | | | | endeavors, but there will always be a personal cost |
| (although that's not a promise). | | | | up front. |
| Some burgeoning entrepreneurs are surprised at the | | | | Owning your own dream has a powerful effect on |
| amount of work involved in launching their idea. There | | | | the way you view the rest of life and it's a grand |
| are so many details to attend to that the big picture | | | | journey that most never regret taking. |
| is obscured by gnats. Each proverbial gnat represents | | | | |