Herman: John L. Herman Jr., Author

Can You Stand Being Alone...

There is a disconnect as time passes and older people forget all the steps it took to get where they are right now. You didn’t fall asleep in your twenties and then just wake up years later this morning.

So much happens day to day the layers build up and little by little life changes. Occasionally a BIG EVENT startles your life, but by and large things gradually change…tiny bits at a time. Jobs, kids, sports seasons come and go and you sometimes forget details of how you arrived here…where you are right now.

I love talking to young people. They remind me of those tiny details.

Yesterday I had a meeting with two twenty year olds who want to open a ski shop which has failure written all over it. They were energetic about their idea, passionate about visualizing their friends and customers stopping by to purchase their goods. They asked a dozen times how do you make something happen Herman? How do you start with nothing and create success? Where can you go to get money for your great idea, to get support to make a dream come true?

The more I brought reality to the conversation, the more passionate they became. I talked about boot-strapping a business from nothing, about the millions of details that have to be done to become a winner…about being alone so much. I forget how much an owner is alone until this kind of meeting takes place. When I looked back and explained to them the long hours, the 1,000 nights on the road, the endless airplane trips, rental cars, and meals alone they couldn’t grasp it.

An entrepreneur has to like themselves a lot because there is a major portion of that life being alone. You alone have the dream, you alone are responsible for every decision along the way, you will feel the pain alone when you fail…and experience the joy like no one else when you win. The more I talk with young people the more I am reminded how alone the business life can be.

For sure you have people around you. I am blessed with wonderful, special children who have always been the biggest joy of my life. There is a group of friends who have been around for nearly forty years that I love dearly. But to accomplish things in the business world I couldn’t always have them with me.

When I discuss the steps, those millions of details you handle alone…you realize why so many people won’t venture into business, and won’t try to break out of the pack to achieve something…because maybe they can’t stand being alone.

• Posted: 20 February 2009
• Comments: 0
• Category: Business success

Comments