One of the sadder parts of the vast amount of literature written about successful people in the world is how little of that is about the failures they have had along the way. Seen in isolation, success stories can be deeply disheartening for anyone who starts out on their own — be it in life or at work. Everyone stumbles, falls and crawls before they get running. Mistakes are the stepping stones to better things and overcoming these falls are major success stories that the visible and glorious ones often tend to overshadow.
In the four months that I have spent since leaving my full time job to try and start my company, there have been numerous setbacks, change of plans and disappointments. Someday, i hope that I can still remember all of them and show them up as the realistic side of doing all of this; should I get to where I want to get to in the future. I hope that is at least one thing that I can do differently about this.
Being on your own is often mistaken for the highest point you can consistently keep. That is just so wrong. Being on your own is about managing to keep the lowest point consistently as high as possible. Which means that you need to make the most out of your least productive days and keep them as high as possible. It is a learning experience beyond compare, since this something you brought up on yourself.
When you work on your own, there is no place to run and hide. Even the most minor imperfection of yours gets amplified a thousandfold. It is the greatest growing up experience in life.