The Paradox of “being” an Entrepreneur

Most entrepreneurs that I meet don’t do it for the money.

They do whatever they do, because it sets them on fire. It burns like an unquenchable flame in the heart, and makes them decline Friday night drinks, postpone vacays away, ignore their health and sometimes neglect relationships. In exchange for 12-18-hour days, 7 days a week doing what they love.

And this is just the tip of the iceberg.

Entrepreneurs know they must plan for the worst, be realistic, and ignore emotional states to make sound, logical decisions. But also, maintain a positive focus, dream big, and follow their hearts to the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow.

The Paradox of “Being”

PLAN FOR THE WORST > FOCUS ON THE POSITIVE

BE REALISTIC > THE SKY’S THE LIMIT!

FOLLOW YOUR HEAD > LISTEN TO YOUR HEART

So how do you reconcile these contradictory concepts and have a meaningful, happy life? The answer is simple, but it’s not easy.

1. Learn to accept that you can never “arrive” at the perfect balance of these conflicting values. The Game of Life is a balancing act, and the determining metric for which way you should sway is defined by, “what is going to give me the most beneficial outcome, in this moment?”

2. Practice this acceptance through meditation until the neural networks supporting “acceptance” go from being skinny, fraying, spiderwebs to the thick, roots of a tree grounded in the earth.

3. Sit on a cushion, close your eyes and witness your breath. Don’t reject any thought or feeling that flows through you. If your mind wanders, return your attention to the sensation of the breath moving across your upper lip. Let it “be” exactly as it is, not as you would like it to be.

4. Off the cushion, keep your compass fixed on the balance between the conflicting values. I.e. If you find your head in the clouds, anchor it back down to earth with a hit of reality. And if your logic has taken over and you’re no longer loving what you do, get back into your heart.

Entrepreneurs are a force to be reckoned with, balanced or no. But when you do learn to surrender to the journey instead of delaying happiness until the end, life takes on a whole new meaning. You learn the difference between “happiness” and “fulfilment”, and you live it through your entire being.