The people in my life are going to stop talking to me because they find themselves on my blog the next day.
That’s my friend Jennifer in the photo. Whenever I go out mountain biking with her, we usually detour from the plan. She always has a better way. “If we go this way…,” it will take us to some cool single track or on a better route.
Often, we end up lost, weed whacking (the trail might fizzle out) or hiking our bikes (as pictured) or using our head lamps to find our way home. But sometimes, we find epic new single track and it’s a ton of fun.
For example, my friend Suzanne texted me this photo with the caption “Eight miles in, hot, lost, and hike-a-bike.”
We actually love the adventure, even though we give her a hard time, and if it doesn’t find us great single track, at least we have a good story to share.
I was reminded of that story as I was writing this post. On three different occasions in the past week, I’ve spoken to three different entrepreneurs, at varying stages in their career, at different ages, and with completely different businesses. All three are launching something new after a period of transition.
One is scared about an upcoming project they are about to embark upon. The second is taking a very conservative approach moving forward having been bitten in their past venture. The third wondered how one knows if they are on the right path towards achieving goals when there really is no road map.
Ahhhh the joys of the entrepreneurial path. What a fun and exciting time.
What all three friends are going through is completely natural, of course. We all recognized that.
One, you should be scared, right? If you’re not scared, you won’t pay enough attention, you might not care enough, and you’ll screw up. Two, some ideas work and others don’t. We learn from each experience and do better on the next one.
But the third is the one I wanted to talk about today. And I’d like to do something different and open it up to you guys. (Well, it’s always open to you, but this time we mean it because instead of giving answers, I’m going to throw it out to you to answer.
My friend was curious to hear from my readers here; creative professionals and entrepreneurs:
How do you know if you’re headed in the right direction when one day you might feel like a rock star – You just landed the new client. Your latest blog post is getting tons of raves, you were invited to speak at a conference…. your spouse sends you flowers. You are on TOP of the world.
And you wake up the next morning to learn your big client wants to put that project on hold. Another client is pushing back on some ideas you sent. You have no interesting email. You are a loser. (I dramatize.) It’s a house of cards and it’s all being threatened.
Are you on the path? Did you take a detour? Are you finding epic single track or are you weed whacking? Don’t go away! This is not a rhetorical question. Please leave your thoughts below. Thanks!
[ssba]
Oh, how I understand your third friend’s question. It’s one I ask, too. I’m not sure I have any good answers. The one I hang onto is not making decisions when I’m at that low point. When you’re there, you can’t see anything correctly – yourself or the path.
Maybe this is too out there, but I think something happens mentally, emotionally, and spiritually when you’re on the right path. The work may be hard, but it brings a satisfaction not found in doing anything else. You sleep easy after doing work like that.
I’ve taken a number of detours before Write Right, and I’m guessing I may have to take a few more before it finally gets on track. As long as I’m heading in the right direction, though, I suppose a circuitous route is better than none.
I love this response, Erin. I think we know deep down whether we’re doing the right thing or not. Right now, I feel super sure of myself and of course we have bad days along the way. Love the circuitous route – there really is no straight line from A to B. 🙂
I LOVE this post and I think I may know at least one of the people you’re talking about. 😉
The cliched but true answer – or, at least part of it, IMHO – is that first, you have to listen to your gut. If you feel good about the way things work out, you’re probably on the right track, even if you don’t know quite where you’re going.
Second, I think you *have* to try and figure out some kind of map. Even if all the roads are not marked, at least know which continent you’re on, and which way the ocean is, and which way the desert is. You probably don’t want to get stuck in the desert, so whatever the actions (tactics) are that you can take to avoid that situation are good ones. And then slowly, I think, the roads will start to reveal themselves.
Third, you have to find some quiet time to figure this stuff out. There’s no way around it.
Detours happen. Sometimes because, sometimes in-spite, of ourselves. The question is, is the detour the right one and will it, in fact, lead to a better road? Sometimes we don’t know that until we take it. And listening to our gut is the only way we’ll know whether to take it or not. Which brings me back to Square One. 🙂
Thank you for a wonderful post, Lisa!
Oh! I could have added this to the blog – about avoiding deserts. In biking, you only focus where you want to go. So don’t look at that big rock if you don’t want to hit it!
I love what you add here, thank you!
Someone recently said to me “the adventure is getting there not being there” and as I relaunch my real estate career I remind myself of this often. Funny as maybe I live all aspects of my life this way or at least the biking part. Love the weed whacker
I miss mountain biking with you, Jennifer! Time for more adventure soon.
i bet your legs look better! get it no scratches
A few years ago I threw this sick tabletop. Seeeerious cliff huckstable. Over the bars. Now I ride pave.
We have to meet in person one day. That is all.
The thing about this question that is funny to me is that I ask myself it every single day and struggle constantly to come up with answer. Yet, when my clients hire me to help them figure it out, I clearly see the routes, the options and the best possible courses depending on particular goal.
And that’s what makes entrepreneurship difficult, it’s personal. It’s hard to have clear perspective to objectively answer these questions because it is more than just ‘a job’ or a ‘project’, your business is part of your identity.
Obviously this isn’t an answer to your question, but a justification for that question going unanswered. I also often feel that sometimes the best answer is the one that you don’t think about….so much of ‘getting it right’ is believing you can, going with your instincts and just DOING it.
Love this, Laura and its funny because I just came across this quote in the Brain Pickings newsletter which I noticed you read, too so you might have seen it.
I thought it would have been perfect to include here if I had seen it sooner:
“I tell you all this because it’s worth recognizing that there is no such thing as an overnight success. You will do well to cultivate the resources in yourself that bring you happiness outside of success or failure. The truth is, most of us discover where we are headed when we arrive. At that time, we turn around and say, yes, this is obviously where I was going all along. It’s a good idea to try to enjoy the scenery on the detours, because you’ll probably take a few. I still haven’t drawn the strip as long as it took me to get the job. To endure five years of rejection to get a job requires either a faith in oneself that borders on delusion, or a love of the work. I loved the work. Drawing comic strips for five years without pay drove home the point that the fun of cartooning wasn’t in the money; it was in the work. This turned out to be an important realization when my break finally came.”
– Bill Watterson, Calvin and Hobbes creator.
When it’s one of those days that the project is stalled, the client is grumpy, and the printer is jammed, I turn to creative procrastination. Weeding the flower garden is particularly helpful – physical activity to refresh the body and visible results to recharge the mind. Then return to the tasks at hand in the office and carry on.
Hi Sue! Yep! Walking the dogs is my thing. It totally re-sets the brain.
I am on a path but I can’t say if I took a detour or have wound up where I am supposed to be. I don’t know that I ever expected to live in Texas but thus far it has been one hell of a ride. I am just trying to enjoy the journey.