So you have an idea, you used your skills to develop it, you even found a partner or two who believe in what you guys can create. You need to ask yourself if you truly believe in your idea and why you want to create it. Because it is about to get hard. But it can be so worth it.
Do What You Love What You Do But…
Most people work an 9-5 job. If you are lucky, those 8 hours are spent doing something you enjoy. I recently heard on TV that only
45% of Americans are satisfied with their job. That’s depressing (and even more depressing that someone’s job was to figure out that percentage:). Even if you DO enjoy your job, the majority of people still consider work just that – WORK. At 5:00pm they hurry home to play. I believe if you are truly lucky, your work and play will collide and won’t need to stop one to do the other.
However creating your own ideas is not for everyone. You need to look at your motivations. If you want to get rich, it won’t work. When the crunch comes and you have to decide which employees salary (in addition to your own) doesn’t get paid this month, money isn’t enough.
I actually work really hard to do the things that I love. Really, I have no choice because I’m bad at doing things I don’t love and find myself really sad when I’m being someone different. There is so much I want to do in life and so little time. My goal in life is to spend my days doing what I love and doing it well. My business is my life… and I love it!
My Current Platter of Play
As of today (Fall 2009-Winter 2010) this is what my current agenda is looking like :
• 5:30am Mon, Tue – Personal train clients at the Lehi Recreation Center.
• 5:30am Tue, Thu – Wake up for free play with the BYU Soccer team (tryouts later this month).
• 8:00am – Dash across campus in time for class: Industrial Design.
• 11:00am – Ride my bike across town to Walden High School where I teach Computer Science and coach Soccer.
• 2-500pm – Ride my bike back to campus for classes: Business, Computer Science, and Design.
Throughout the day I also spend time with Jessica, meet with clients for Capital G Design, design, and dabble on other baby-ventures.
I feel beyond busy. But I love every bit of it. Personal training is great because I get paid to work out, motivate, and talk about health. I love soccer because it is my passion. BYU, I love for social reasons. And I love teaching High School because the kids are amazing, I enjoy the High School atmosphere, and interestingly enough, being a teacher has taught me how to be a better student myself (and my wife will add that I think I’m cool for being a 23-year-old High School Teacher).
The reason I ride my bike everywhere is because it adds more exercise to my day without taking up more time. Doing freelance through Capital G Design is great because I meet new people, hear out their needs, translate their descriptions into something visual, deliver, and truly enjoy the work along the way. Where client work doesn’t fulfill my creative needs, my baby-ventures takeover.
You need to remember that at the end of the day, your family and your health are just as important as your business. If you don’t take care of the basics, you will literally fall apart.
The Hardest Part
The hardest part isn’t being busy. It isn’t staying up late and waking up early. The hardest part is wanting to share this joy of a lifestyle with others, but needing to remember that it’s not for everyone.
