This post was published on Kevetan’s blog, Because, for a guest post in January titled “The path to bliss though entrepreneurship”

You often hear “Be your own boss, create your own hours, do what you love” as reasons why the life of an entrepreneur is greater and therefore by definition happier than everyone else’s  I learnt that none of this is true after I relinquished my 9-5 life to fully commit to my start-up.  I quickly realized that quitting a job that doesn’t make you feel happy will not magically change things, nor will starting a business. The life of an entrepreneur is an emotional roller-coaster  quite the contrary to “the perfect life”. Let me draw you a quick picture; although you have no boss, there are always people to answer to, such as clients, media, parents, and most importantly yourself, who is more important than any boss.  While you do create your own hours, to be successful, one requires consistency in their schedule, discipline, and focus. Although you may choice not to work during the standard 9-5 hours, you will need to work as many, or more hours. Although you are doing what you love, starting a business is hard, and operating and developing one to grow is even tougher – your job responsibilities will include boring things like paperwork and data entry – it’s not always fun. The pressure to achieve results and the hectic lifestyle can make you forget that you are enjoying what you do. Doesn’t sound very blissful  does it?

If starting a business is not a highway to happiness and one has to endure various hurdles, why are most entrepreneurs so content? I believe that the path of entrepreneurship can result in contentment because of the opportunities it presents. First, you are given the freedom to channel your full potential. Second, your are forced adjust your mindset which leads to personal development because in order to be successful you must tackle things you are uncomfortable with. And lastly, entrepreneurship channels to self-discovery as well as the ability to prioritize and focus, which can further enrich your well-being.   Also, many entrepreneurs are content simply because entrepreneurship allows for a direct link between their passion and contribution to this world, and perhaps even inspires others! All of this is very much related, let me explain…

Reaching your Full Potential: The Jigsaw Puzzle Analogy – Can I Paint and Re-size the Pieces?

When it comes to potential, being an entrepreneur requires being opportunistic, energetic and possibly a narcisstic leader simply because your chances of making it are much lower otherwise. If you posses characteristics entrepreneurship endows but you are not an entrepreneur  those qualities might never be used.  A corporate job is comparable to a one piece of a 100,000,000-piece ocean-scenery jigsaw puzzle, if you go missing, the Arctic Ocean will still look like a large body of water, with the world surrounding it. The scenery is beautiful and you may feel honoured to be a part of it, but you feel like you could represent at least 50 pieces of that puzzle and you would imagine re-sizing the pieces and perhaps even painting them a different colour. If you were to re-size and change the colour of the pieces, would you still fit in this puzzle? If so, how would the puzzle look? I’m sure you’d be advised not to alter the pieces in any way by those around you to avoid any risks of destroying the Arctic Ocean. Then again, you may have been able to add a multi-coloured arc over the sky, adding to the beauty.

This feeling, that you are wasting your time at your job, partly comes from hierarchies and pointless job titles, which imply that we can contribute, but only within limits. Limits and boundaries are set by “the boss”, job titles, and hierarchies. Basically, you feel guilt all the time, as if you are selling yourself short by being a part of a system that doesn’t challenge you enough to contribute all that you are actually capable of contributing. If you are not reaching your full potential and capability, you are also not reaching your full threshold of happiness.

Adjusting your Mindset

Entrepreneurial personalities are more likely to be type-A personalities from what I’ve seen, perhaps narcissistic too. Naturally, experiencing the rewards of successful endeavours is their favourite drug. The rewards are proof of our potential, what we are capable of, the endless opportunities in the world that we are all capable of realizing.

Despite their can-do attitudes, these optimists do have to overcome very many pressures. The pressures include greater risks and responsibilities, mainly the financial risks. Responsibilities not only include leading the business, staff, stakeholders, but most importantly, ourselves to ensure they remain motivated, focussed, healthy and happy. Over the past year, I have grown a much greater appreciation for personal development through analyzing our own perspectives and new ones and being open to adjusting my own mindset.

If one wants to remain an optimist after getting on the entrepreneurship roller-coaster, one must adjust ones mindset. Especially when it comes to handling the most difficult thing about being an entrepreneur;  Yes, failure.

Entrepreneurs, constantly face rejection in some way because the lifestyle is action-oriented. You’re constantly doing, you’re a hustler. It is difficult not to take the rejection personally. Just as the rewards and successes are extra special, the loses are as harsh, or worse. Through conversations with others and my own experiences, the rejection and set-backs can be devastating, discouraging, and depressing. However, with a change of mindset, it could be easier to view failures and “scary situations” as opportunities instead of “tough times”. Opening up to dealing with uncomfortable situations, like failures and facing your fears can open up doors, creating more opportunities. I believe realizing this has been one of the most valuable personal development opportunities in my life. Being able to deal better with failure and becoming more fearless has led me to cool things – like going skydiving, viewing the world from 12,000 ft off the ground to gain a new perspective on the world and my place in it. I would not have been able to lower my blood pressure levels, anxiety levels , and make great new friends through Argentine tango if I let the fear of possibly making a fool out of myself (I’d never danced in public before) hold me back. All the “scary” activities I may have engaged in over the past year allowed me to experiment with boundaries and helped me realize there are no limits. Once I discovered this, I was able to view the emotions that come with fear and failure as opportunities to improve myself.  Adjusting mindset and getting out of your comfort zone can be scary, but it is absolutely necessary if you are looking to increase your levels of exhilaration.

Self-Discovery – An Inspiring Radiance

Entrepreneurship channels self-discovery because being an entrepreneur doesn’t make you a know-it-all. Often entrepreneurs are faced with trial and error, and discoveries along the way continuously change the path. Entrepreneurship is a never-ending journey that is practically impossible without epiphanies and self discovery.   Not everyone will book a ticket to India or go bungee jumping; it may be through literature, listening to Mixergy pod-casts, new experiences, through meaningful conversations with cool people, etc..

It is impossible to be the best at everything. Although this is obvious, we often try anyway, which can lead to anxiety and stress. Through discovering yourstrengths and passions, and what’s important to you, you can sort out and prioritize what matters to you, positioning yourself to develop meaningful goals then embark on a journey to achieve them. Not only will your idea better the world, but the sheet of radiance around you will bring inspiration to others.  Before racking your brain, trying to come-up with that Eureka moment, an idea that will change the world and make your neighbours happier, knowing what makes YOU happy first will allow you to develop goals that you can truly be proud of upon achieving them, which will allow you to create a sense of peace and ease for the mind, body and soul, allowing you to be healthy and do the best work possible.

In conclusion, realizing potential, adjusting mindset, and embarking on a journey of self-discovery are key ingredients that we need as humans, whether you are an entrepreneur or not. These three aspects contribute to self-actualization, contributing to happiness and fulfilment. As Maslow’s hierarchy of needs proposes, self-actualization can only be achieved once more basic human needs are mastered. How to reach this level will be unique for each individual; however, the results will be similar. Happiness and fulfilment are a common output that will results in higher quality of life, a life without depression, anxiety and stress. For me, this has been achieved though becoming an entrepreneur…

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About Esha:

As a young child I always knew I wanted to own my own business. However, upon graduation, when everyone around me started applying for 9-5 jobs, I thought it was something I was supposed to do too. So, I did the same and soon after started working a 9-5 job like everyone around me. The thought of doing something different, like starting my own business at a young age was scary and would make me very different from everyone around me. But I wasn’t happy, I felt like I was an actor in a terrible movie, that I was cheating myself of my potential. After three years of working very hard in corporate marketing, I finally became OK with the idea of being different and accepted the challenge of facing my fears of the unknown by quitting my job and fully committing to my start-up. Thus far, it’s been an adventure! If you’d like to chat more, I’m always down for chatting over tea, feel free to ping me. Cheers, Esha

Photos: Property of Esha Abrol