Over the past six or so weeks I haven’t done much work at all.
Few bits and bobs.
But that was mainly overseeing other people do work for me and writing this newsletter.
Nothing major.
I’d been wanting to take some time off to recharge the batteries for a while.
Was visualising how great it would be to not have to do anything.
Much like most people do with holiday and retirement.
Thing is…
I’ve been bored shitless!
There’s only so much sitting around and watching TV, reading and walking in the park or forest I can do before I start to realise something…
…doing nothing, even the things that are nice like park walks or golf or the cinema lose their shine…
…quickly.
I know I know. You might think you’d love to be able to do nothing if you’re in a job.
Maybe you’re looking forward to retirement and being able to put your feet up and watch endless runs of Jeremy Kyle (God forbid!).
There’s an image in your head of doing what you want, when you want.
And that’s great.
BUT…
At some point you’ll realise that doing nothing isn’t all it’s cracked up to be.
That us humans, even in retirement, need to be kept a little busy.
And as much as business can, at times, be a complete pain in the arse – it does give me something.
Something I think we all, deep down, want in our lives.
It gives me…
EXCITEMENT.
I’ve noticed over the past six weeks that my life hasn’t been anywhere near as exciting as it usually is.
Get up. Read a little. Workout. Go for a walk. Watch some TV…
It’s nice to relax for a bit but, for me at least, I miss the buzz of life.
I miss feeling like I’m living.
Knowing what is going to happen each day hasn’t been lighting me up.
Was nice at first.
I’d stretch out in bed and think “no newsletters to write…no marketing to do…nothing…sweet!”.
Go for a walk in the park.
Read a little.
Watch some TV.
Play golf or some kinda social activity.
All sounds great doesn’t it?
But for me – it doesn’t make me feel truly alive.
For some, I’m sure that would be heaven.
Especially if they’ve worked their ass off in a job until retirement.
But for others, most I think, not doing much gets a little boring after a while.
Erin’s told me I seem “lost”.
That’s how I’ve felt. Trying to fill me day with random things.
And this is where business comes in for me.
It gives me excitement!
Even when things aren’t going to plan, the challenges make my days exciting.
Learning new things makes my days exciting.
Growing makes my days exciting.
Seeing customers or clients transform makes my days exciting.
Business in general gives me something I want in my life – excitement.
I value excitement more than comfort.
And why would you stop something that makes you feel excited?
It’s like my Dad.
He didn’t retire until he was 80.
He ran his cushion shop until he could run it no more.
Until he wasn’t physically able.
But he kept going till that age because…
Why stop if you’re enjoying the buzz of the process?
Now, thankfully, he’s found something else to get excited about – gardening.
He can always be found in the garden, walking around the garden looking to see what has changed since he last walked round, or eyes deep in flower catalogues planning his next purchase.
But there’s a difference between Dad and myself and many people.
And this is a big lesson so listen up…
We get excitement from the process, not the result.
Lemme repeat that…
We get excitement from the process, not the result.
In other words the carrying out of tasks on the way to where we want to be is a buzz.
Imagine if Dad was only ever happy once a flower had bloomed and looked beautiful?
Imagine if he looked at the process of digging a hole, planting the seed and waiting for it to bloom as a green fingered pain in the arse.
Wow – that is a horrible sentence but I refuse to change it.
How happy would he be as a gardener if the process of gardening was a chore and not exciting?
Now take my business…
If the days I spent creating, marketing, building products, writing etc was always a chore and there was no excitement how much fun would business be?
If I was only happy when money came in or everything went to plan?
And this is the thing…
Most people in the start up space approach business focused on the end goal – money.
That’s the equivalent of approaching gardening only for when the flower blooms.
It won’t be a pleasant experience when you’re carrying out the process of gardening in order to get the result you want.
You have to learn to LOVE the process.
The journey on your way to the destination rather than just the destination itself.
The process of learning, failing, mastering and succeeding in business.
The process of learning, failing, mastering and succeeding in gardening.
Or whatever else it is you want success with, long term.
Learn to enjoy the process, even when it’s tough, and your chances are massively increased.
Focus on the destination and keep telling yourself you “hate” the process involved in getting to the destination – yep, you ain’t getting there.
Here’s something I want you to understand…
There is no destination.
You may think you’ll be happy with 100k in the bank…
But the process that gets you there, if you enjoy it, will make you want to go higher.
Last year I felt overworked and said I’d be happy hitting a revenue target WAY lower than I am capable of. I thought if I could hit that number in the year, whilst not doing too much work, I’d be happy.
I had three different projects on the go and pretty much hit that in January.
Which is why, after delivering on all projects, I took time off.
Destination achieved.
But boredom kicked in.
There was no process I was involved in that was exciting me.
I could take the rest of the year off…
But what would I do?
Sit on a beach? After a while that would lose it’s fun.
Travel? I’m going to South Africa for two weeks next week. More on that in a sec. But travel alone won’t cut it.
Sit at home and watch TV and play computer games? Gimme a break.
I had to experience these things to see if they were right for me.
And each has their place.
But, for me, I need excitement.
And I get that through the process of building businesses.
Business is like a game.
Yet many treat it as more “life and death” – success or failure.
Those are the people who give up early.
They’re not focused on trying to enjoy the excitement of learning something new that is challenging.
Not focused on trying to enjoy figuring out challenges and puzzles for how to go to the next level.
Instead they see challenges as an obstacle that frustrates them and they give up on it.
You’ve GOT TO start seeing challenges and obstacles as fun.
Like a kid playing a computer game.
If the game was easy, the kid would get bored.
If every time he played he got maximum points and completed the game with ease – how fun would that really be? How exciting?
The process needs to be exciting.
And the challenges make it exciting.
The destination will be nice, for a while, but then you’ll realise you want more money…or to be more ripped…or to be better at whatever it is you’re trying to improve on.
Stop focusing on destinations and start enjoying the journey there.
Give you an example…
For YEARS I wanted to build muscle.
Massive collection of bodybuilding books.
Hired high end personal trainers.
Watched endless youtube videos.
Yet I hardly lifted a weight.
Why?
Two reasons…
I saw lifting weights as hard and a chore…
…and was focused on being built like the hulk.
So I didn’t want the challenge of the process and only wanted the destination.
And trust me, if I had got big, I’d have always wanted to be bigger because the destination always moves.
But guess what…
I’m off on holiday next week to South Africa.
A month ago I started to work out with weights with the intention of sorting my posture out in order to stop headaches.
I didn’t want to have headaches whilst on holiday.
I had no physical destination in mind other than that.
Didn’t care if it made me lose fat, put on muscle or anything else.
Just wanted to sort my headaches.
So I started lifting weights…
…and now I LOVE it.
I’m actually enjoying the process.
I’m in the best shape I’ve been in for gawd knows how long.
I have no specific end goal in mind.
Just going to keep working out and enjoying the process of challenging myself.
Before, I wanted to build muscle for others.
So others thought I looked strong and “tough”.
Now, I don’t give a shit.
I’m doing it not for others, but because I enjoy the process of challenging myself with the weights.
Is it hard? Yes.
Do I sometimes not want to do it? Yes.
But boy, it’s fulfilling to challenge myself and lift more than the weight the week before.
(I’m just about off the pink weights now!).
Some people will work out just to get in shape for the summer…then stop in winter when they can cover up with big clothes and get fat.
They’re destination focused.
Like the person who starts a business to make x amount then makes x amount and stops…until they run out and then have to do it all over again.
There’s always another Summer round the corner.
Whereas the people who workout throughout the year because they love the challenge – they stay in shape.
The entrepreneurs who start a business and find the challenge fun and exciting, they stay entrepreneurs.
They love the process. The journey.
NOT the destination.
You start to enjoy the process when you focus on enjoying challenges.
On overcoming hurdles and revelling in the buzz of it.
By doing things this week you couldn’t do last week.
NOT by focusing on some end result and a “I’ll be happy when I get that” mindset.
Be happy and thrive on the journey and the challenges.
You’ll hit that result.
But you’ll blast past it because you enjoyed the process of getting there.
Next week I’m off to South Africa for two weeks.
Whilst away, if I’m not eaten by a lion or shot (some of the places we’re visiting sound pretty extreme!) I’ll be brainstorming my next move.
You can be sure it won’t be…
“Sit around, comfortable and without any challenges but not growing or excited”
Pick the bones out of this and take from it what you may.
But if you want an exciting life – entrepreneurship is one way to fulfil that value in a way sitting on your arse “relaxing” never can.
Jon Street