Today’s my birthday. I’m 40-something. I stopped counting when I turned 38 (and it took me the 8 years to even acknowledge that I’d turned 30). No, I am NOT one of those people who are going to age gracefully. I will fight it to the bitter end!! 🙂
Now that we have that out of the way…
I took today off work (not intentionally planned initially, but my truck’s in the shop for multiple problems). My friends and family have sent me tons of birthday wishes on Facebook and have been asking me what I’m doing today. I’m working on my websites…my marketing blog and my holiday sites mostly. Why? Because I haven’t had much time to focus on any of it for more than a few minutes at a time because of my job and this is what I WANT to do.
It’s a gorgeous day outside and could be doing anything today. My best friend since high school (my son’s Godmom/Aunt) called today to chat and I had to tell her that I would get back with her later. I can talk on the phone while I’m driving. There are things I CAN’T do on my laptop while I’m driving – those are the things I’m getting done today – the technical crap that takes focus!
So why am I posting about this? Because it reminded me of when I was doing my offline business. Friends and family members would call to invite me out on a weekend boat trip, a shopping trip to the mall, a dinner out – and I would turn them down so I could invest time into my business. Did I want to go? Yes. Did I feel I deserved the time off to relax? Yes. Did I have the time? Absolutely!
Or did I?
The answer to that question depends on your perspective, your goals, and how fast you want to get them accomplished. I’m one of those people who wants it now. More importantly, I want out of my job – NOW! Not next year, not when I’m old enough to retire – NOW! The job I work is literally killing me.
Could I walk away from it now and do this full time and hope the income comes in quickly enough to sustain what I’m doing? I could. I started my first business when my job quit ME and put me in a spot where I had no choice but to make it happen or lose everything I had. But while I made that one happen in time to work things out, it was a lot of stress and I just don’t want to go back to that if I can avoid it.
So it’s a trade-off. I give up dinners out, weekends grilling out or hanging by the pool, long phone conversations with friends, etc. so that I can get myself out of my 100-hour work weeks and back to where I can choose my own hours and spend time with the people I care about without stressing over how the bills will get paid.
From past experiences with people I worked with on building their own business, there’s not a lot of people who are willing (especially at this time of year) to give up today’s wants for tomorrow’s freedoms. And yes, people will tell me that I have to find a balance. Well there IS no balance when you’re launching a business unless you want it to be just a part-time hobby that brings in a little extra money here and there (and trust me, there’s nothing wrong with that if that’s what you want). But I have much bigger goals and I want to achieve them NOW!
So, you’re the only one who can answer the question for yourself – what are you willing to do to reach your goals?
Later…
Happy birthday!
As another long haul trucker, I can feel your frustration, and your desire to get the heck out of this industry.
I drive team, and I know we’re both anxious to get out of long haul driving. After 4.5 years, it’s time. The poor food, long hours, no exercise, and poor sleep are getting to us both. We can’t keep it up.
I’m trying to focus what little time I have on launching an online business that will pay the bills and get us some income, so we can get off the road. Ideally, I’d find a local job in addition to all of this, but it’s looking like January before I can start looking local. Until then, I steal a few hours of my 10 hour break on my laptop, trying to make things work.
Stephanie,
Thanks so much for the birthday wishes. My man and I drove OTR till December of last year as a team so I know how that works too. 🙂 And as a driver, you know there are very unique challenges we face out here even with the simplest tasks of running our lives. My other half started driving in 2006. I started in 2007. And he’s gone from healthy to high BP and Type II. It’s time to get off the road. 🙂
I’m like you…2-5 of my 10 is spent doing anything I can on my laptop to move my business forward! Keep it up!
Debi J
Hi Debi,
I am the same as you when it comes to work. It seems like fun and R&R are at the bottom of my list of things to do.
I spend most of my time working towards my goal of becoming independently wealthy. 🙂
Justin,
It’s always good to know I’m not the only one! 🙂 I know there’s a balance there somewhere and yet I know that balance isn’t going to be during the building phase. I’m much better than I used to be…I do close the computer when my family comes to me and says they’d like to talk…but the rest of my free time goes into creating a future for them where they never have to stress over money. 🙂 Good luck in your business and thanks for stopping by! I checked out your site and it looks great. I’ll have to stop by and read some more when I’m not working. 😉
And Happy Thanksgiving!
Debi