I used to think enjoying myself was a waste of time as an entrepreneur. Now, I see that the biggest red flag for entrepreneurs is their inability to do just that. In fact, your capacity to enjoy yourself is one of the biggest predictors of success, and here’s why.
Prefer to watch? I’ve put my video below or if you’re a reader simply continue reading the post.
The Dangerous Guilt Cycle of Entrepreneurship
A huge red flag that immediately tells me whether an entrepreneur is going to succeed is their capacity to allow themselves to have fun. Your success does not hinge on you not enjoying yourself, yet so many entrepreneurs get caught up in this little cycle where they feel guilty for enjoying themselves if they haven’t achieved their goals yet.
They often say, “Well, I’ll enjoy myself once I get to this milestone.” But here’s the thing, you will not be the person who can enjoy that milestone if you don’t learn how to enjoy yourself now.
My Story: Why This is The Biggest Red Flag for Entrepreneurs
For so many years, when I was first starting out and building my businesses, I struggled with this immensely. Over the years I’ve started three different companies, but the thing that I struggled with the most in the early days was not allowing myself to have a good time. I would find myself invited to do something with friends or family, and any time away from my business felt wrong. I felt guilty for it.
If I wasn’t grinding, if I wasn’t building, if I wasn’t working on something, I would not allow myself to enjoy it. And that robbed my nervous system, my mind, my body, and my soul of the ability to enjoy life.
So what did my life become? Well, where your awareness flows, your energy goes, and that’s what grows.
My life became nothing but working and grinding. I was constantly not enjoying myself and feeling guilty if I tried to. In the moments where I should have been enjoying myself, I was not present with family or friends. I was just not present in my own life, always worried about the next thing to stress about.
How to Prime Yourself for True Success
So here is what you need to do. If you want to scale your business, make a lot of money, create freedom, and actually live a life you love, you must learn to enjoy yourself. Start allowing yourself to have fun because your success literally depends on it.
When the day arrives that you’ve built the thing and you’ve achieved those goals, you need to be the type of person that can actually enjoy what you’ve built. Otherwise, you’re doing it for nothing. So get out there and learn to enjoy yourself.
