My Trials and Tribulations as an Entrepreneur
By: Leigh Ann Betts
Tags: Life Lessons, Self Improvement, Business, Entrepreneurship, Abundance

Photo by BBH Singapore on Unsplash

If you asked me what being an entrepreneur is like I would have to say, “It’s hard. Plain and simple, being in business for yourself takes effort, a lot of time and it’s can be lonely.”

On the outside, it’s portrayed as all rainbows and unicorns. On the inside, it’s exhausting and, at times, discouraging. “Will I ever be successful? Do I have what it takes? Can my adrenals survive this?” are just a few of the questions that take up my headspace.

Let’s be honest, most of us are drawn into becoming an entrepreneur under the guise of the freedom it will afford us. Entrepreneurs are driven. It’s the double-edged sword that lends to no boundaries between our personal and business lives and before you know it, we’re working all the time.

Been there, doing that.

With a few years behind me now, I see what’s really been going on through this entrepreneur journey; my business has been a chrysalis of healing for me. I fled the corporate world of money and security to follow my dream and find my purpose. Except I didn’t really know what that was. I just knew on a deeper level to take one step at a time towards my interests and passions and the journey back to me began.

I believed I had to let go of the money to do meaningful work; that it was an “either/or” choice.

Interestingly, the constant thread in both worlds was my need to strive and work hard. The common denominator was me and the deeply rooted belief that my success was defined by my external world.

Photo by Samuel Zeller on Unsplash

Funny enough, I recreated the same situation except I was no longer making a lot of money! I thought I had to choose one over the other and now see how my lack and scarcity mindset of climbing the corporate ladder transferred over to battling it out in the trenches of entrepreneurship.

My goal as an entrepreneur was to create an abundant life with my business. I believed that if I led a spiritual life, had meaningful work that gave back to others and set up the right systems and processes, that I would make money while I slept which would allow me the freedom and balance to do whatever I wanted to do. Except it hasn’t worked that way and it has almost killed me trying to get “there”.

Fast forward to today, I see clearly that lack and scarcity thinking and an abundant mindset are nothing more than different sides of the same coin; fueling the “either/or” mentality. Ah, that’s the missing link! I haven’t been living from my heart. I haven’t been living a life in alignment with what I truly valued. Instead of spending time with those I love, I’ve been taking myself away from them.

Now begins the big work of sifting through what is important to me so I can powerfully create my life one empowered decision at a time. Success isn’t defined outside of ourselves; it comes from within ourselves. I am now choosing to live in a “Both/and” reality versus and “Either/or” and asking myself what do I value and leading my business and life from there.

There IS middle ground between lack and scarcity and abundance and it’s called enough; enough love, enough money, enough time, enough doing and all the excess is just fluff.

What is enough to me however, may not be enough for you. That’s why each one of us needs to go inward and connect with our hearts to see what we truly value.

Photo by Felicia Buitenwerf on Unsplash

Living between the lack and scarcity and abundant thinking creates a striving energy that reinforces the societal belief that we are not enough. This striving shows up when we are going against the current. Yet, when we decide what is enough in each area of our life, it creates an allowing energy which puts us in the flow and life unfolds with grace and ease.

I never imagined that this whole journey of being an entrepreneur was really all about a journey back to me. It’s not what I expected or planned, it just happened. And like the caterpillar that’s in the cocoon, it cannot comprehend the possibility of becoming a butterfly; it’s totally out of its realm of possibility and yet, it just happens.

All the trials of entrepreneurship have led me to my wounds and as a result, I’ve uncovered the gifts that they hold. It’s been a wild ride that’s for sure. Recognizing that my business and myself are really one and the same. Doing the inner work IS hard. It DOES take effort. And…a big AND here, the lessons ARE worth it.

I’m choosing to relax into who I am and trust the process. I am choosing to strive less and be more. I am allowing…and I’m grateful for it.

Leigh Ann makes her home with her family in the Canadian Rocky Mountains where they enjoy the outdoors, community and small town living. Best known as a Transformational Leader and Intuitive Change-maker, Leigh Ann is on a mission to up-level women’s lives through feminine leadership and entrepreneurship.

With a unique blend of credentials in Business, Feng Shui and Life Coaching, Leigh Ann inspires women with new skills, new thinking and new hope to transform their lives to become powerful creators of a life they love.

If you are ready to take the next step towards a life you love, connect with Leigh Ann for a free 40-minute clarity call by clicking here. You are worth it!