Celebrate the Little Successes as a Salve Against the Bruises of Entrepreneurship and Parenthood When you're juggling two jobs -- entrepreneur and parent -- the days seem endless and the nights can feel just as long. And let's just admit one thing: there's very little reward, or it seems that way.
By Jim Joseph
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When you're juggling two jobs -- entrepreneur and parent -- the days seem endless and the nights can feel just as long. And let's just admit one thing: there's very little reward, or it seems that way.
Because we are in it for the long haul, we don't mind too much. We know the reward comes in the end: happy, healthy and successful children and hopefully a business that's either hit critical mass or is up for sale.
We hope for big payoffs in both directions! Wouldn't that be amazing?
The problem is those successes are a long time coming and we rarely get glimpses of them happening. There's always something wrong. There's always a hiccup.
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How do you do both successfully? How do you max out both sides of life's equation?
That question is nearly impossible to answer. So we keep plowing ahead, and keep hoping that we will reach our goal: happy kids and a successful business.
This is exactly why it's so important to celebrate the little things in life, both personally and professionally, along the way.
When we were raising our young kids at home, we would try to turn the ordinary into the extraordinary, just for the experience of it all -- gingerbread house kits at Christmas, school projects on the kitchen table, taco night with all the fixings prepped in bowls.
We always tried to make these little events feel special.
When I had my own marketing agency, we would celebrate the milestones there as well: the launch of big campaigns, internal promotions, new business wins. Everything was a reason to say "cheers!"
Related: Forget Big Goals. Take Baby Steps for Small, Daily Wins.
These little moments, celebrated big, would keep us engaged and aligned, regardless of how long and tough the days and nights felt. The kids went to bed happy, and our employees went home fulfilled, maybe not every day, but most of the time.
At least that was the goal. With a long-term goal so far out -- college for the kids and selling the agency -- we had to have milestones along the way.
It certainly helped me to enjoy the journey, I can tell you that.
I chronicled the journey in my new book Out and About Dad as a way to celebrate what I've accomplished. I have two happy, healthy and successful kids and I've moved on from my own little startup to a global brand-communications firm.
I'll take it, and all the bumps and bruises along the way. Yes, I wrote about those too -- the journey wouldn't be complete without them.
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