I'm so proud of you. And here's why...
I love a good documentary, especially the kind when a person takes on an epic challenge just to prove what they're capable of. This weekend I watched two of those documentaries, The Push and Iron Cowboy.
The Push is about a man named Grant who had a terrible snowmobile accident that caused him to lose the use of both of his legs. Two years later he becomes the first spinal cord injured athlete to push himself nearly 100 miles across Antarctica to the South Pole.
Iron Cowboy follows a different, but equally epic journey of a man named James who completes 50 ironman triathlons in 50 states in 50 days.
These stories sound crazy, and they are, but I never finish a film like this without thinking..."What am I capable of that I haven't done yet?"
There is a moment in both of these stories when they conquer their goal. Grant reaches the South Pole. James finishes his 50th race. Those moments are epic, no doubt, but it's really a celebration of all the hard work, blood, sweat, and tears that's gotten allowed them to reach their goal.
These guys trained their asses off. They put in countless hours in the gym. They mastered their nutrition. They monitored their biometric markers to optimize performance. They built support systems around them that included family, friends, trainers, doctors, and more. They were focused, driven, and very clear about their goals.
Even when the adventure came, they continued to labor through deplorable lows. James was falling asleep running, getting injured, and surviving on very little sleep. Grant's feet would become frostbitten and set them back hours on their trek. Instead of chasing that "big goal" it often became a matter of surviving the next singular minute.
There's a point during the trek that Grant begins to question if can make it. So instead he'd ask himself, "Grant, can you give it just 10 more strokes?"
He'd reply, "Of course I can!" And he kept repeating that over and over for 5 entire hours until they reached that day's stopping point.
This is why I love these documentaries. They are a fierce reminder that the path to our goals is paved by thousands of little freaking steps. Did James and Grant just luck into the completion of their epic goals? No. Freaking. Way. They worked their asses off and invested loads of time, energy, money, and more to get there.
Consider the parallel to building your wildly successful business.
You are putting in your own blood, sweat, and tears to build your business. You show up for it every single day and do the work. You create the newsletter, you make the sales call, and you update your Quickbooks and have that tough conversation with an employee. And sure it might not be sexy enough to make a documentary out of it, but that doesn't matter. You're following your own dream and you're "training" your ass off by doing the right things week in and out.
I am so proud of you for continuing to do the work to build your badass business.
Keep putting one foot in front of the other. Keep doing the work. Keep driving toward your dream. Because it's YOUR dream and it's so worth it.
And hey, you just never know what you're capable of until you give it a go. So here's to dreaming big, boss lady!
Hilary Johnson is on a mission to help women entrepreneurs develop powerful, profitable and sustainable businesses. As a serial entrepreneur and business coach herself, she recognized the need firsthand for true community, support, and education. This led her to create Hatch Tribe, an organization devoted to cultivating and connecting women entrepreneurs across the world. She is the author of "A Girls Guide to Surviving the Startup with Your Mind, Body, and Soul Intact", an encouraging read that imparts road-tested wisdom for tackling the inner and outer work of being the boss. When she’s not working you’ll find her traveling the world with a single carry-on bag. Her favorite quote & mantra is “Live Loud. Eat Well. Travel Often”.