Having your own business comes with obvious benefits – like a better lifestyle, a bigger income, and more freedom.
But when I look back on when I first started out over 25 years ago, there’s something else I never saw coming… something that has fundamentally changed me.
In this video, I’ll tell you about the unexpected yet awesome reward of being an entrepreneur.
So here's one thing they do not tell you when you set out to be an entrepreneur.
I'm not talking about the hard work, the long hours, and the times where you're just not certain. What I'm talking about is all the amazing people that will come into your life that you get to meet.
As I look back on this – it's 25 years. Who I have become in those last 25 years – I'm a very different person than I was when I first started.
I was a stay-at-home dad and desperate, desperate, desperate – if I could just make $10,000 in a year. That was my big goal. Things have changed over those 25 years. It's been a long journey so I am a completely, fundamentally a different person.
It's because of who I've got to hang out with, who I've got to meet, who I've gotten to know over those years. Some of them are peers in the industry which are some of the greatest people you could possibly meet. I'm talking about smart, kind, abundance-minded people that would give you the shirt off of their back, you know, of course not everyone. But I've gotten to meet so many people like that. So many people that have mentored me, that have taught me, that even didn't know they were mentoring me or teaching me.
But the lessons I've absorbed from so many of them – I'm thinking like the first one that comes to mind is my friend Yanik Silver, who is just one of the most abundant-minded persons I've ever known in those early days. When I got to know him and we became friends we had a lot of adventures and misadventures together – just absorbing his abundance mindset and how he brought that to everything in his life – it's just mind blowing, game-changing. He's amazing but he's only one of many like that.
And then of course, the clients that you get to know. I have clients that have been clients of mine now for, I don't know, 15 years.They have become dear friends.
I've traveled around the world to visit them. I've traveled all over to go to their weddings. I've learned from them. They're just incredible clients doing amazing work in the world.
And then of course the people on my team. I have now assembled this amazing team. Last week was pretty fun because we got to roll out a whole new list of really cool benefits that they get as team members – designed to reward them but also to help them create their best life because as a team we're trying to create our clients’ best lives but it's disingenuous if I'm not doing the same for my team. So we just rolled out a whole amazing new benefit package for the team and that was just so fun.
And of course, you know, right now it seems like the economy is melting down so many companies are having hiring freezes or salary freezes – that's what it’s like in the news these days. And to be able to be generous to our team, even more generous, was super cool. And the reality is, these are incredible human beings and to be able to somehow attract them to join my team and go, go all in and spend so much of their life force helping me get my message, and my teaching, and my training, and my change out into the world is absolutely amazing.
I guess right now I'm just feeling a lot of gratitude for all the people that this business has brought into my life. What a blessing. What a blessing if you've followed my story at all – my business life, my professional life, is all about making a positive impact in the world. That's my driver. That's what gets me up in the morning. And while that, and being able to work with my team, and being able to work with my amazing clients, that's what gets me up.
But you know when I started out it was just financial. We needed money as a family. And to think back who I was 25 years ago or more than 25 years ago – just never saw this coming. Never saw how it would make such a huge impact. The people I get to hang out with as clients, as colleagues, and as part of my team, it just blows me away. And so super grateful.
A lot of these videos I shoot for people that are just starting out. But also a lot of people watching this are peers and have been in this business, you know, big names, big fancy names, have been in the business for a long time. And those folks, I guess, this video is more for you because I know that you've had the same experience. So I just want to suggest maybe you take a moment and think about the Gratitude you have for the people that your business journey has brought into your life.
I'm Jeff Walker, wherever you're watching this scroll down, leave a comment, tell me what you're grateful for and let's go get him this week.
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