Why Should I Keep Going When It’s Hard?

• By Cheryl
• 10 January, 2013
• 3 Comments

Never Give Up

My friend and colleague, Marybeth C., posted this cartoon on her Facebook page the other day (from www.funelf.net).  I am thrilled to share it with you, because this image is now burned on my brain and will most definitely keep me going!  Have you ever wanted to just stop, give up, take a rest, decide that maybe “this business” works for someone else but it just doesn’t work for you?  Read on…

I have worked in consulting, airline pricing, and education.  I tended to move to something new about every 5-7 years.  As I look back, I believe I was simply a little bit bored and looking for a new challenge.  I hit that point again almost two years ago, and decided to start a network marketing business with a company whose products I already loved and used.  It is truly amazing to try to describe the ways in which my life has changed since then!

When you work on your own – whether you are in network marketing, direct sales, you own your own business, or you work at home – you need to have some very significant internal motivation to keep going and work hard day after day.  You do not have a boss telling you what to do, and you are the person setting the goals.  Tempted to set them low so that they are easy to reach and you can relax?  We all do that at times!

I am learning that many people (my past self included) drift through life without focusing on a dream.  We fill our time with various recreational pursuits, but as time passes we tend to do them with less vigor.  We may start to worry about our future job security and our retirement, but we simply worry.  We do not take action.

A second group does have a dream – a big dream.  We want to quit our job, we want to move to a new place, we want to change careers, we want to travel, etc.  We think about these dreams a lot and we decide that we’re going to start working towards them.  And then we hit a roadblock.  And then someone says no.  And then we get some questions that we can’t answer and we realize how much we don’t know.  At this point, many in this group give up.  This is the bottom guy in the cartoon.  So close!  We didn’t realize that the next business deal or next person we were about to talk to would have changed our world!

The third group is the hardest working, happiest, most driven, busiest, most successful group of them all.  We (and I hope to stay in this group!) have big dreams.  We’ve written them down; we read them aloud every day; we tell our families and friends so that they can cheer us on; when we have a bad experience, we go out and work harder to find some great experiences.  We know and truly believe that every “no” or closed door is simply showing us how to get to the other, better option.  We don’t take business personally but we undertake our businesses with our whole person.  We help others and practice gratitude.  And we KEEP DIGGING.

Will this third group hit their dreams quickly?  Maybe – but there are no guarantees.  If it takes 5 or 10 years to reach their dream lives, was that too much?  I doubt it.

Find your passion.  Don’t let anyone tell you that you can’t create a business doing something you enjoy.  You can.  I’ve seen it happen over and over again.  KEEP DIGGING! 

Cheryl (34 Posts)

I am a wife and mom and animal lover who is passionate about health and about following my dreams. I am a lover of change and challenges! I started my home business almost two years ago and I have been able to switch to part-time instead of full-time high school teaching. How wonderful to be creating a dream life and helping others to do so as well -- all while finding healthier versions of products we all use everyday.