Priorities

It was a much needed 4 months off.  Some time to regroup, rethink, and most importantly, prioritize. This blog is about entrepreneurship, the dream and pursuit of it.  It's a noble cause; one which crosses the mind of all of us who have not made the transition to the dream of self-employment.  But it begs the question, what is it that drives us toward this or any other pursuit?  What is TRULY your passion behind the curtain, the veil of this pursuit?  There is a lot of romance in the ideal of entrepreneurship.  Come on, let's recite the benefits:  Freedom.  Let's stop there.  There are many definitions of freedom.  What is your definition of freedom?  Is it financial? What does it even mean to have financial freedom?  Finances are a finite concept.  It comes, and it goes.  Cash flow is king, but it takes a lot of effort to keep cash flow alive.  That is probably one of the most fundamental concepts of entrepreneurship.  And when you don't have a steady paycheck coming from The Man, you might not feel so free anymore.  Isn't it nice to not to be charged (at least directly) with the responsibility of maintaining cash flow at the company you work for?  Does that idea feel free to you?  Can you conceive of the idea of working without a weekly paycheck until you get the ball rolling, as entrepreneurs do?  Therein lies the challenge within the idea of freedom as it relates to a career.  But then again, a steady paycheck under the constant threat of being sacked is not my idea of freedom, either.  In fact, it can be painful, if not tortuous at times.  And that, my friends, is why they call me THE PERPETUAL WANTREPRENEUR. 

All joking aside, I digress.  I mentioned priorities before.  Do you have your priorities in order?  You cannot possibly succeed in any pursuit if you do not prioritize.  And I'm not talking about organizational skills here.  I'm talking about PRIORITIES.  I recently spoke to a very dear friend about what is important in life.  We were discussing our present employment circumstances (he was fired about a year ago by the company I currently work for, and he is now employed by another large corporation).  I met him in training my first two weeks with my current company.  He's a southern boy, and his self-deprecating humor regarding his heavy accent and lazy eye may lead some to believe that they are smarter than he is (he loves to make the point that he isn't very smart).  But oh, he's smart.  Really smart.  He was crushing the rest of the region month after month in managing his location's financial plan before he was terminated (in my opinion, wrongfully).  And he accomplished this feat working 6 hour days, five days a week.  I spoke with him about a week ago to see how he is doing.  And as always, as he was even when he was unemployed, he is doing great.  He asked me to tell him something good, before I pulled into my driveway to see my wife and 1 year old boy.  So what did I do?  At first, I found a way to complain about my job situation and the relentless pressure of a new GM (more on that later, if I ever feel like devoting any more energy to it).  But I did manage to honor his request, to tell him something good.  So I told him that I am the luckiest man alive.  I have a beautiful wife who supports me (even though I can make her life very difficult).  I have a beautiful baby boy.  We have a roof over our heads.  But Glenn stopped me as I gushed about my non-monetary fortunes.  He told me that I have to stop using the term "lucky" and replace it with "blessed."  He said, at this point of our lives, we aren't lucky.  We're blessed with the treasures of our lives.  And I have treasure.  And a beautiful wife, and a child with her.  And I have the most amazing family as well, who love and support me, no matter what.  So, it's all about priorities.  If you can realize your priorities, you can realize your potential.  That's what I'm doing.  And you should, too.  And you will be blessed, and maybe even a little lucky.