The Journey is the Reward đź’Ż
As Entrepreneurs, we often find ourselves chasing “the next thing” and working towards bigger & better goals. This is great, it’s why we’re the lifeblood of innovation & progress. AND sometimes, our greatest strength can also be our biggest challenge.
One thing that I found over time is that the 100% focus and pursuit of the next big thing, the next big goal, the next innovation or project — left little time to enjoy the fruits of what I was building & live in the moment.
I remember distinctly when AdOutreach was listed as the #60 fastest-growing company on the INC 5000 back in August 2022. We had grown 6,052% over the prior 3 years. I took the team out to dinner to celebrate, and then after that, the laser focus was back on, and I remember being disappointed that I didn’t hit the goals I wanted to hit that particular month.
I spent more time beating myself up about not hitting the goals & targets I had for that August, than I did celebrating the 3-year achievement of being one of the fastest growing companies in America.
At the time, I was taught to aggressively “normalize” — which is in itself actually a good lesson. But when it’s taken to an extreme it becomes negative.
Each new level was the new normal & anything less was not good enough. And each new level shouldn’t be celebrated because it was the new standard, the new floor.
Now some degree of this I do believe is actually important for growth — you do need to normalize new levels & raise your floors & ceilings.
That’s the tricky part about mindset & business advice — it’s often times good & valuable, but not always when taken to extremes. There is nuance.
Looking back, I normalized so aggressively that anything less than a new record I saw as something I did wrong — and I spent more time obsessing over improving the things I did wrong vs celebrating the things I did right.
I knew something had to change about this.
I knew there had to be a better way — to chase big goals while also enjoying the moment.
And that’s when it hit me — THE JOURNEY IS THE REWARD.
I spent all this time chasing goals & milestones, only for them to evaporate into the next big mountain to climb — and that’s good, that’s normal for entrepreneurs!
AND at the same time, climbing a mountain & not giving yourself an hour to look at the view & celebrate the climb is doing yourself a disservice.
And furthermore, not enjoying the road up the mountain is also a disservice too.
If you like to hike mountains — you enjoy hiking — so you should ENJOY IT!
If you’re an entrepreneur and like to build businesses, you should ENJOY IT!
The greatest stories ever told don’t focus on the ending — after the battle is won & peace is restored. They ALWAYS focus on the Journey.
The end of a book, movie or play all lasts mere minutes & is never the core piece of the story.
It’s the JOURNEY that is where the friendships are formed, the battles are fought, the lessons are learned, joys, sorrows, ups, downs & the camaraderie among those seeking a common goal are all experienced.
It is now that I realize that is what it is all about.
It’s not about the Destination.
It’s about the Journey.
The Journey IS The Reward.
