No One Has “Arrived”
I love the expression, “I have arrived!” Anyone who has uttered this phrase will surely tell you that they’ve said it tongue-in-cheek to describe reaching some proverbial pinnacle. It may appear to everyone else that they have “arrived” at the top. By golly! They have made it! But the person reaching this proverbial pinnacle will tell you that it’s a small milestone in the journey of business ownership. Guess what… no one ever “arrives”. The exciting thing about owning a business is that there is always another challenge around the corner.
But, it doesn’t always look like this to someone that is newer to business. When I was new to being an entrepreneur, I would look at those who came before me with wonder and stars in my eyes. I looked at all of their accomplishments as pie-in-the-sky dreams for myself. I thought, if I could just be big enough to have a profile on xyz website then I could say that I arrived. If I could just have my own studio space then I could say that I arrived. If I could be featured on such-n-such blog, then I could say that I arrived.
The funny thing is that when each of these things happened, I was always looking forward to the next thing. I never really felt like I arrived because there was (and is) always something bigger and better around the corner.
Do we ever take time to savor our accomplishments, to relish in our achievements? I think because we are always wanting to improve ourselves and our businesses, we rarely take inventory of our wins. We accomplish a milestone, but don’t always celebrate it because we feel we need to reach that next peak.
When we climb one peak, there is always another. Take time to reflect on the wins you have each week. You’ll enjoy the journey so much more.
What a great post Michelle! I’m so familiar with the feeling of looking at others with stars in my eyes! I’m trying to be present during this start-up phase and enjoy every minute of it. Thanks for sharing this. And I know you plan to announce it soon, but any chance you could tell me where The Simple Plan what city in the northeast The Simple Plan will be coming to in 2011? I’d love to attend.
Great post! I’ve found that as I get to know those that I’ve looked up to in the wedding photography industry that they feel exactly this. From the outside I’ve looked at them and said, “wow, they’ve made it” but that’s not the case. Great reminder that we are all somewhere on this unending climb.
Oh my God! That is so meeee! I feel totally unaccomplished because I always want more and more!!! I guess you’re right, I need to look back and see how far I’ve come! Thanks for sharing 🙂 and I see you next week for Mexican! Humm…
Lara
So true, remembering to “stop and smell the roses” isn’t always easy but it makes all the hard work so worthwhile! =)
This is such a great post and it’s so true! Taking the time at the end of each week to reflect on what’s happened and to slow down is so key!
Thanks so much for posting this. So frequently we have peaks and valleys in our own businesses, and it’s so important to remember that after the peaks things can go down a bit, but in the valleys, things will always go up so enjoy the ride!