Sacrificial Rites
In the ceremony we call entrepreneurship, it's often family, friends and finances that end up on the altar.
You hear countless "happy" stories about single moms
who've turned family recipes into multimillion-dollar
businesses, or Disney and Microsoft dropouts who used their
corporate training to turn themselves into Internet icons. It's
no wonder there's been an entrepreneurial craze lately-creating
and running successful companies looks so darned easy. Forget
self-help books-entrepreneurial success stories are some of the
most inspirational things in print today.
Glaringly absent from most of those cheery stories, however, are
the mental stress of not knowing whether you'll have to steal
that next roll of toilet paper from a public restroom because
future income is so uncertain, the ill will of loved ones who
didn't make your to-do list, and the recurring migraines from
two hours of sleep per night and a diet of fast food and coffee.
Instead, they're glossed over with a thick coat of "But
now our sales are (insert commendable figure), and our client list
is 100 strong." It's not just the media's fault.
Getting a business off the ground is somewhat analogous to natural
childbirth: The pain is so excruciating, you begin to doubt
you'll make it through-you might even cry out "No
more!" But when you're presented with that beautiful
bundle, those tortured thoughts become sweet memories . . . most of
the time.
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