Being an Entrepreneur is "Hard"

Being an Entrepreneur is "Hard"

I constantly read posts about how tough it is and how much you have to sacrifice as an entrepreneur (aka Gary V - or 1DV as in one dimensional as I call him).

This is so silly and it's often bastardized by 2o year old, wanna-be pretend entrepreneurs who spend all day watching Gary V and consuming hustle culture content. Becoming self employed is tough. You'll get nervous and doubt yourself, you'll be making $1K a month and be watching all your friends do well at their jobs while you struggle. But long term, if you figure it out you'll become the one of envy for others.

As a self employed guy I wake up and do pretty much what I feel like most days. I normally have a cup of coffee in the morning, read and watch the news on my tablet, reply to emails then I'll either record a video or manage the content for one of my websites or I'll have some Fiverr work to knock out.

You see a guy working on the side of the road to fix a swear basin to feed his family? That was my dad and that is work, that is sacrifice.

How about a women cleaning the lobby of the hotel?

A kid at In and Out Burger?

That’s hard work. That’s sacrifice.

I can tell you my time in the military and all the dumb jobs I've had were way harder and much more of a sacrifice than what I do now.

Stop with this nonsense.

If you're even moderately successful like myself (making 60K to 150K a year) you're not some martyr, you are a lucky bastard. You can basically live wherever you want within reason. Sure you can't ball out it New York City but Bangkok or Bali? Totally possible.

You also get the privilege of not having to wake up to an alarm and can actually take the morning and relax for a bit with a cup of coffee. Don't even get me started on going to the gym. Everyone else is at work, but you can hit the gym at 10 am instead.

Last, it's pretty incredible that you can build an asset that pays you to own it. Have money coming in when you're not "working?" That's not most people.

Always working an never working

Sure I work hard and most entrepreneurs I know work all the time. But it's different because it benefits you directly and not some CEO who needs a 2nd home in Colorado.

When I was getting started I used to be an English teacher in Thailand back in 2011. Then I would come home and work on my own stuff from 4 - 8. Then eventually I was able to go all in because online teaching became a thing I took advantage of while in Thailand and that formed my reliable money I could depend on and not need a day job anymore.

It was sort of like training wheels for self employment. For 2 years I was doing my online work from 8 in the morning till 2 pm, then a short break then teach online from 4:30 to 9. Then I would go out with friends or relax. I did this 8 am to 9pm schedule flat out for over two years.

Lot's of people work hard and get nothing back

An 8 hour shift at Burger King is way harder to work than someone with an online business day to day. The person doing those long shifts it usually hating the work and does not want to do it (I know, I worked there as a 17 year old). Hence that's why it's a job. Your labor also benefits the owner of the business and not yourself.

Every entrepreneur particularly the ones constantly posting how much risk and sacrifice it takes, talking about hustle culture ad nauseam, typically have an abundance of choice. It reminds me of that Cain and Able story. Often times, you don't get what you want because you're making the wrong sacrifice. Toiling away and sacrificing your time at Burger King is not going to get you rewarded. You have to do something else.

In short, you won the human lottery

If you make it into the 1099 superior race (as Aaron Clarey calls it) then be thankful, take count of your blessings. The good timing you had, the right idea, the right implementation, a good work ethic, a high IQ and your health.