Ask me five years ago and I never thought I would be an entrepreneur.
Ask me ten years ago, and I never thought I would be standing on my own two feet, alone, independent and financially responsible for the rest of my life.
So much has changed, yet so much has stayed the same. I'm growing, learning, doing and living in a world that is constantly changing. I'm forced to adapt to these changes. I didn't want this. I wanted something bigger, better and brighter. No one tells you how difficult life actually is. Professors only teach you what they think you need to know. Parents hide you from the truth because they want you to live a happy, successful life. But sooner or later, you come across a life-changing event - one that flips your world upside down and rattles your core - and it's not about how that event affects you, but how you react to it.
Survival of the fittest.
That's what my Anthropology professors taught me in college. Bones, fossils, evolution and survival of the fittest. Because when you think about it, life is made up of events, situations, moments and feelings, and when you experience something that changes your life and rattles your core, you need to figure out how to survive.
I had a choice - sink or swim. I chose to swim - blindly, without goggles and without a coach. No shoveled path, no guidance, no hand-holding; just dive in, experience every single moment, and hope for the best. For the first time in my life, I became the teacher. I taught myself how to swim (figuratively), and more importantly, survive in a world that's always changing. I taught myself how to find passion in something, work harder at what I want, and smile when I just want to cry. I taught myself how to find the endurance, strength and integrity to continue running a business that [most days] is failing. I taught myself how to love deeper, laugh harder, smile more, and stand on my own two feet.
The moment you let it all get you is the moment you begin sinking.
I've had more bad moments than good. I guess it comes with the package. I have days when I want to let go, give in, and call it quits. But then I realize that by doing so, I abandon so many things. I abandon everything I have worked so hard for, for the last ten years of my life. I abandon so many people who have helped me get to where I am today.
It's not about giving up, it's about pushing through (TWSS) those rough moments and bad days, knowing better, brighter days lie ahead. It's about realizing how far you've come [in such a short amount of time] and using that as motivation to push you forward to the next day, the next week, the next month. It's about being happy where are you - right this moment - and savoring it, because you may never feel that same way again. But most importantly, it's about loving, laughing, and smiling because sometimes it's those little moments that help get us through a really, really bad day.
"Success is to be measured not so much by the position that one has reached in life... but the obstacles which he has overcome while trying to succeed."
- Booker T. Washington -
photo credit
No comments:
Post a Comment