I'm self-employed. Am I rich? No. Will I be? Not likely. Am I happier? Yes. Am I healthier? Yes. Is life easier? Some days, in some ways, yes. But is life supposed to be easy?
Character is built through adversity. Without friction there's no traction. Sometimes we learn the most and learn best when life becomes difficult.
Several years ago, my then-employer made a mistake. He didn't view it that way and I doubt he will ever realize what he did. At the time I viewed his actions as negatives. Only last night did I realize that he did me a favor.
He cut my sales territory from about 600 accounts to 117. To survive I had to learn new skills, hone old ones, and discover my potential. I did more than survive. I flourished.
I became the #1 salesman. I learned what my customers bought that I wasn't selling. I learned where to buy products, who had the best deals, who would deliver on time. I learned everything I needed to know to be in business for myself.
Do I know everything? No. Is this adventure a bit scary? Sometimes. Is it fun? Most days. Do I regret my decision to quit? No.
There are times when I wonder what I've done and question my sanity. There are times the stress strains my marriage, because now we're also business partners. But, we're learning to trust one another better, communicate better, and we're enjoying our time together.
Before we had almost no time as a family. I worked 80-90 hours a week—minimum. Now, I take weekends off and most evenings I stop working long before midnight, sometimes when we have dinner together. Before, I ate prescription strength ibuprofen several times every day. And the headache never went away. Now, very rarely do I need to take anything for pain relief.
I'm grateful for a second chance, again. And I'm determined not to squander it. So watch this blog for more frequent posts. I'm not sure how often they'll appear. I'm no longer on a schedule.
