We usually like to think that Jon is pretty brave. He loves hunting and being outdoors. He’s the designated family bug killer when a pesky pest gets into our home. He has no problem standing up in front of hundreds of people to sing and play guitar at our church. But there is one thing that he certainly is not brave about at all.
Heights.
It’s pretty bad. It’s not just that he gets nervous at heights in real life. He goes full on heavy beating heart and sweaty palms watching cartoons and movies with our kids! Yet somehow, he’s always the go-to ladder guy in Erica’s family. Not sure how that one worked out, but he does his best to act like it doesn’t make him nervous! 🙂
Unlike him, Erica LOVES heights, and in particular roller coasters. The thrill of being strapped into a seat, completely out of control and winding and twisting up and down and upside down is a feeling she almost craves. The heights! The feeling of her stomach dropping while rolling into the drops. The loop-de-loops, twists, and fast turns – she loves everything about them! She once got a minor concussion from riding one (thanks Goliath) but survived. It didn’t scare her off and she would get on one right now if she was standing in line for it. Yeah…she’s pretty hardcore! 😉
Throughout our dating and married life, Erica has slowly worked Jon into being more open to riding roller coasters, but he still absolutely hates the initial climb to the top. It’s slow, leaves way to much time to think about everything that could go wrong, and the anticipation is just too much!
Are any of you like Erica and LOVE roller coasters? Or are you more like Jon and get sweaty palms at just the thought of them and have to practically be drug up the stairs and through the line just to get onto one?
We feel as if we’ve been riding a roller coaster for many months now. We’ve experienced the long, slow start of the climb to the top. We’ve teared up from excitement as we’ve ridden into the heights and supported each other as we felt ourselves going over the top and dropping back into the lows. The entrepreneurial journey is far from easy. The idea of being an entrepreneur is fun and exciting, but the execution is difficult. That’s probably why 50% of new businesses fail within the first 2 years. That’s not to be negative, it’s just reality. It’s daily tough, hard work, even when you’re in one of those low spots and don’t feel like doing anything.
So why do we and many other entrepreneurs do it? Why sign up for something that has a 50/50 chance for failure and an emotional swing that is guaranteed to vary wildly day to day?
Because the upside is so much greater that the low points. The twists and turns, loop-de-loops, and ups-and-downs are all part of the process. Without them, it really wouldn’t be much of a journey. In the moment they might not feel like a fun part of the process. But looking back you realize that it’s not much of a ride without them.
We might get sweaty palms as we face our fears of it. We might get bumped and “black out” from a fast turn that we didn’t see coming. But when it’s over, we get to take in a deep breath and realize how much fun it really was and feel fulfilled having survived it.
So today, if you are feeling the low of the ride, remember this: The only ones who ever get hurt from riding a roller coaster, are the ones who get off too soon.
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