As an entrepreneur, you will have it really bad at the start of your career. There will be times when you literally feel like pushing the ‘delete’ button, throwing in the towel with enough force as would rival an Olympic Shotput Champ.
Don’t beat yourself up, you’re not alone. And not one person has the right to judge you. You’ve come a long way to get here.
In the middle of the night, at some point in life, a bright idea taps you on the shoulder, instructs you to sit up and get your notepad & pen. It’s so grand, you are almost breathless in writing it all down. You set to work immediately, create a plan, formulate strategies, conduct numerous researches, and brainstorm relentlessly. Along the line, you discover you could use some help and you reach out to a few friends.
Here’s the first problem — great friends don’t necessarily make great partnerships. Friends and acquaintances dwell in different apartments of our lives. There at the corridor, are you, controlling the traffic and suddenly getting excited at the prospect of pursuing this grand idea with your friend(s) of many years. S/he’s your greatest fan, so naturally, you strike a chord at the first mention. They know the right words to say, and the exact emotions to exhibit to make you glow with pride and begin to dream in colour.
So, immediately, you sign them up, and reach out to any other you may need. Good for you, you now have an interesting assortment of ‘partners.’ You hold deliberations, assign duties and you wait for all the levers to kick in naturally. Two failed deadlines after, you get your first kick in the belly, express just how important it is to keep to these deadlines and they promise that things will change. They have all the time now. But it happens over and over again. Now, 10 missed deadlines and 1000 motivational speeches later, you are worn out, and you’re wondering if you expected too much.
Don’t feel bad. They weren’t hungry. Whoever catches a great idea and drops it, or misses a bus headed for greatness was never a convert to start with. It was more of a holiday, weekend project for them. That discovery can be heart-wrenching. It can even make you doubt if your friends were really so to start with. Don’t worry, it’s a path we all are familiar with. You will experience a lot more delays along your path.
But of all the negativity you will face, and the hurdles you will cross, do not let the evil of bad partnership get in line. It is simply not worth it. And what’s more? It’s over time proven itself potent in killing ideas and crushing dreams.
Getting with the bad company is as cruel and disastrous as a rotten tooth, and a leg out of joint — messes up everything. How do you keep hope alive when you’re plagued with a spectator partnership? How do you move ahead when one foot is faced backwards? How do you run with one part of your body whilst dragging the other along? It makes no sense.
If you have not already made the mistake, don’t. If you have, the good news is that it can be undone. Sever the partnership and keep your friendship. Who says they can’t cheer you up from the outside?
Remember, you have the world to change. You’ve put so much into making your dream a reality. It’s your baby, and as far as we can tell…it’s not being nurtured in a communal womb. Bear the pain with pride, and nurse the hunger with patience. Keep diligent with your pursuits, and set realistic, possible deadlines for yourself. Better to spend longer time dotting all i’s and crossing t’s than relying on who will simply pack them and refrigerate for later.
Don’t stop working that dream. There are glories to claim, and an industry to disrupt. You have yourself to prove right, and all of us to inspire.
The phrase “no food for a lazy man” is an old as time, but here’s a refined modern version of it.
If they didn’t exhibit any hunger, don’t invite them to l(a)unch.