The entrepreneurship journey not enough of us talk about: Part 1
A real journey to entrepreneurial success…
This article is different from most I’ve written & way outside of my comfort zone, but as my business nears its 1st birthday 🎉 and in reflecting on this past year, I felt compelled to write it.
First I’ll start by saying that some will agree & some will disagree with this article, and I respect and embrace all perspectives, this article is based on my experience & journey.
In my first year of business I’ve grown more than I have in my entire professional career. I’ve recognized the depths of my knowledge, I’ve found my true purpose in helping spiritual & faith based businesses amplify their mission, and I’ve made soulful connections with amazing people across the world.
While I’ve experienced many highs, I have also experienced many lows & faced challenges I’ve never had to face before, and these are the lows I’ll refer to here on — the lows that I find not enough entrepreneurs talk about.
I’m sharing these because my hope is someone who may be feeling, or has felt like I did, will see this article and it will help them. I’m also sharing them because I want to be more authentic, and too often I only show the highlight reel of my life/business, and it’s not an accurate portrayal.
So let’s start there… Let’s talk about The Highlight Reel & Our Mental Health
The Highlight Reel
Too often what we share on social media is the high-light reel of our life, only the best moments of entrepreneurship, the freedom of time, independence of location and unlimited income potential — aka — all the happy pictures and positive captions. What we don’t really share, and few get too see is:
Our fear of failure
“What if no one likes my post?”, “What if I’m not good enough?”, “No one in my family has a business, can I really do it?”, “What if I’m not cut out for this?”, “What if people think… who is she to be an authority on this?”… I could really go on and on, but these are thoughts I have regularly & I know I’m not the only one.
Our stress
The one that comes along with launching a new program, product, or service, or not having a guaranteed income every month… at least not until you get to that place in your business. Some get there sooner than others, and because that’s predominantly what we see on LinkedIn & Instagram, we start thinking “well why aren’t I making 6 figures yet… what’s wrong with me?”
The truth is nothing is wrong with you, we each have our own journey. While I’m an avid believer in learning from others & being inspired, predominantly seeing one type of success story can sometimes distort reality.
I didn’t & still don’t see enough entrepreneurs talking about their mistakes, the painful lessons they had to learn, and the truths they had to reckon with along the path to success.
In preparing to write this article & reflecting on what I share I realized “Umm I’m also that entrepreneur”… I only share my high-light reel, so here’s a very non high-light reel moment:
- The first webinar I ever did — only 10 people showed up & my boyfriend was one of them.
A couple tools & strategies that helped me get to where I am today…
Mindfulness: I put a high emphasis on what I consumed everyday, the voices I chose to listen to, and spent time with myself. Time in peacefulness, meditation, visualization, spent time in nature.
Seeking a higher purpose: Being guided by something bigger than myself. Some call it God, universe, higher being, source… whatever you call it, is what works for you. Finding my purpose and the value I could provide to others was instrumental for me.
Not doing it all myself: Reaching out for help. I wanted to do it all myself and prove I could do it all myself, but that’s not realistic. I wasn’t an expert in everything, so I focused on what I did best & sought help with the rest.
Our Mental Health
I don’t think we talk enough about mental health and what a big role it plays in the entrepreneurial journey. Our mental health, I truly believe can make or break our businesses and we don’t acknowledge it enough.
Being a first time entrepreneur forces you to face limiting beliefs you didn’t even know you had, or maybe you always knew they were there but now they’re really amplified, and you have to face & overcome them, and it’s not easy. It’s especially not easy to do it on your own.
I see a lot of *rah rah* positive, growth mindset, manifestation posts/content in the entrepreneurial community, but very seldom do I see vulnerable real life stories of triumph & defeat… Just to be clear not saying they don’t exist but they’re not the norm.
I’m guilty of the classic “failure leads to success, every failure is a lesson, reframe failure” posts, so let me say how I really feel about failure… failure sucks, it’s embarrassing & comes with a lot of guilt.
Failure can reinforce or bring up the worst beliefs we have about ourselves. While I learned from my failures over the past year, it did not make them any less painful.
I fully acknowledge that sometimes the only way to learn is by failing and trying again, but learning how to fail safely takes time. So in the meantime, here’s some things that actually helped me improve my mental health and my mindset…
1. Acknowledging there’s a difference between mindset & mental health
Acknowledging when I needed help from a professional that specializes in mental health. Motivational quotes, affirmations, visualization exercises are great — but they don’t replace tools provided by a mental health practitioner. A mindset coach is key 🗝️, but if you can’t sleep at night, if you have ruminating thoughts, if you’re having a hard time getting out of bed most days, please seek the help of a mental health practitioner. A combination of both is what worked best for me (I suffer from anxiety).
2. Sticking to a meditation & 15 min exercise schedule
Fifteen minutes of exercise doesn’t sound like a lot but I couldn’t stick to 30 min and instead of continuing to set that goal & feeling like a failure every day, I set a smaller more achievable goal (15 min every day). My meditation schedule varies, sometimes I find it more beneficial in the evening, sometimes in the morning, or in the middle of the day. It varies each time, I like guided meditation, sitting in nature quietly and absorbing the environment, or praying.
Seeing Your Greatness
This is a 3 part series. It’s 3 parts because there’s so much more I want to write about, but based on my own experience, I won’t read articles that are too long (maybe it’s the millennial in me 😊) so I’ll end part 1 with this…
“I see so much greatness in you, I wish you could see it in yourself”. That’s what I want to say to you, the reader of this article. Sometimes it’s hard to see your own greatness, but it doesn’t mean it’s not there.
If any of this resonated with you please reach out, I’d love to connect with you, and if you think this article can help another entrepreneur, please share it with them.
Love,
Aura Telman
Imperfect Human
Founder, Huresources Consulting
