What are you willing to give up in order to build your business?

I love that Ralph Waldo Emerson quote. Hsuanhua. It's so true.

Bob and I started both of our businesses after our daughter had "flown the coop," so I can't say I gave up quality time with children. I think what I gave up was my dream of being an author, as in many books. I'm still plugging away on my memoir, but it's going very slowly.

I think when it comes to building a successful business, you do what you have to do. One thing I gave up was a steady, stable job (teaching) and all the benefits that come with that (health insurance, retirement plan, etc.)

I do not compromise, though, on my health. Aerobic exercise still takes center stage, an hour a day before I do one single work-related task. I also write my three Morning Pages every day, religiously. And I write my "gratitude statements."

It's a tradeoff, this entrepreneur's life. But I will have to say that most days, I am truly happy and doing what fulfills me. Thanks for the great question.

The comfort and the guarantee that comes with a stable and permanent job- anybody with an entrepreneur bent of mind and the willingness to enjoy the thrill of being one's own boss would love to trade it with the effort needed to build one's own business...

Justin and I gave up so much to start our business...our jobs, our home (we actually lived in our shop for the first year..with our son!), our free time. But what we have gained has been so worth every bit of it! Yes, we struggle...but having happy clients and doing what we love is fantastic!

There would only be a few things I would change...well, actually, maybe not. I am so very appreciative for everything that we have now. I will never take the simple things for granted..a hot meal, a hot shower, a real bed, being my own boss..ALL of it has made me a better person. (and our son has learned quite a bit and is grateful for all of the above and I know will never take them for granted..he said so :) )

HsuanHua,

I started Morning Pages 10 years ago when I purchased Julia Cameron's "The Artist's Way: A Spiritual Path to Higher Creativity." It started as a way to recover the distance I had drifted from my authentic creative self. It became much larger than that.

Morning Pages (three pages written in longhand) help me prioritize my day, allow me to look any negativity in the face, stare it down and not let it darken my day. They are like getting up in the morning and phoning myself.

I really recommend this book to anyone who is creatively "stuck." Morning Pages taught me, as the quote goes, to, "Trust that still, small voice that says, 'This might work and I'll try it.'"

Starting and running a successful business takes risk. To risk means giving up security. You may give up the security of having a regular paycheck; the security of a structured environment; the security of health insurance (and the list goes on and on).

I'm willing to give up nothing. Nor do I think I should. Art T.

"What is one thing that is necessary to give up in order to build our business and we are not seeing it?"

The expectation that everyone will like you and/or what you're doing.

Many of us (I'm included here) go around in life hoping/trying to be liked by most people. Starting a business requires us to take a firm position and say "this is who I am" in a very visible, projection-attracting way.

In setting up my biz, and especially in declaring myself as an energy healer, I have had to sacrifice getting everyone's approval. (Not that that's ever possible, but it's much more obvious now.)

Arthur... Please, indulge me. How do you not give up anything?

I have been trying to find my own answer to this question and have not found where that line should be drawn.

I agree with Art. I am not willing nor do I believe that I should ever feel I have sacrificed or given up anything in order to build my business. It's just a job, regardless of whether it is my name on the business license or someone elses. The day that I wake up and don't want to do this work anymore I will find something new to do.

Giving up is a state of mind. I've been living the way I want to 20 years now. When I figured that out I became a much happier person. You're not really sacrificing if you're doing what you want. Art T.

i love it!

you and liz put it so well...

Oh, Art and Elizabeth, I just love your attitudes. It is so important to be doing what you love.

My only problem is that I love two things equally: running my own business and writing the things I want, my own stories. And I have to admit that there aren't enough hours in the day. I think maybe that's what Erin was referring to?

I've always had a problem deciding what I want to be when I grow up. I suppose that will never change. In fact, thinking about it, I'd be bummed if I ever "grew up."

My self-image. It's not so much giving up in the sacrificial sense, but it is giving up in the sense of letting go of attachment.

To stay in business and grow in business I find I get to re-discover who I am and how I live every day. I come face-to-face with my preconceptions about other people and myself.

As a result of "giving up" my self-image, I have a much richer and more joyful life.

Art, I agree with you in principle, though I notice I still make choices.

Thought actually they seem to make themselves.

I agree completely Molly - my idea of "who I am" and "what I offer" has changed so many times now I just think of it as a river, and nothing I can control. What a relief.

Along similar lines, something I've had to be willing to give up over and over again is the option of hiding. Since my business is really "me," when I'm marketing, blogging or doing my work I'm totally out there - "balls out" as some of my more crass friends (and apparently me) might say.

Most of the time I'm very grateful for the opportunity to give up this particular option, but it does feel difficult on some days when I'd rather hide.

We all must make choices and the choices we make define us as individuals. I can do everything I want all the time. There simply isn’t enough time for all of that activity. I still don’t feel like I’m giving up or sacrificing anything though. At some point we all need to come to terms with the fact that we are limited beings. We can’t have every little thing there is to have in the world. We can however; run our own lives and fill it with what we choose. Art T.

I've had to give up...

1. my preconceived notion of what "success" looks like.
2. the idea of working for myself = "My time is my own." It's not.
3. "safety" and "security." And, by the way, it's been worth it.

Hmm…this was difficult for me to think of. Sporadically, I give up my Sunday afternoon to work on projects that need more attention before the week starts.

I also have given up 3 hours on 1 Saturday a month - for a year. I'm in Adrienne Fritze's (a Biznikian) Guerilla Exhibitor, Stake In The Ground workshop. There's a great pay off for my business self and my extra business ideas I am working on - so is that really giving anything up?

Oh, yes, as I said our choices define us as individuals. Art T.

This is proving to be a very interesting discussion...thanks for opening the topic, Hsuanhua.

More on what you were saying: I would like to recommend a change in semantics. Rather than "giving up something" which creates a feeling of loss, try saying, "I'm choosing to --------" or "I prefer to -----".

Does it feel different? Changing our perceptions changes how we feel.

Marianna, I like your thinking on this! You are so right - it is the way we think about things that make us balanced or not. Silly, I know, but I chose to not watch The View with my morning breakfast. Instead I took that half hour back and instead of eventually killing an hour, I have gained it back .

Seems trivial, but to me it was empowering.