You are not alone no matter how much you think you are…there are others like you.
As an entrepreneur, sometimes I feel alone.
I feel like it’s me against the world.
I feel like the crazy guy that can’t handle having a boss and only wants to do what he wants to do.
I feel like people with a J.O.B. look down on me.
I feel like mentors are hard to come by because I feel like no one understands me.
At Drexel, in my MBA, I felt very alone. Stuck in a room full of aspiring finance professionals, accountants and people who naturally understood economics and statistics, I was one of the few creatives, one of the few people-persons. I get energized from working with people, from talking, from brainstorming…from BREAKING the rules, not FOLLOWING them. I didn’t want to interview, I wanted to build and conquer…I felt alone.
I’m not alone.
I’ve met incredible people that have profoundly impacted my life. In many ways they are nothing like me, but they support me and their different perspective helps me grow.
Recently, I met the older, wiser me. An hour long phone call felt like something out of a Sci-Fi movie where the telephone reached through time (though the Puerto Rican accent gave it away that this was not an older version of me on the other end.) Throughout the conversation I heard my words coming out of his mouth. I felt validated that someone else felt like I do, thinks like I do and behaves like I do yet still managed to become very successful.
He had made his mistakes, many of the same ones I’m making. He’s had success from many of the same things that are bringing about my own success. I was able to quickly appreciate and respect his perspective and hear his guidance. Taking advice and guidance is easier when there is room for me to be me, rather than needing to change who I am.
I was relieved to hear that the ebb and flow of entrepreneurialism is normal…but that it never goes away. The hunger for the chase is always there, the desire to build something bigger and better never fades.
I am excited to feel a bond with someone professionally because in my world, that is rare. I’m competitive, I don’t take direction well and I often think I’m right…this makes for a challenging work environment for my superiors.
In the absence of a superior, where I am the one calling the shots, my tendency is to flatten the organization, work with people rather than having them work for me. My awareness of what I hate about being an employee keeps me keenly aware of how I speak to people, the work I assign and the expectations that I have.
I’m quick to trust, but slow to respect. My trust is often given but my respect must be earned.
For years, all of this has been bottled up inside of me like some dirty little secret, like something to be ashamed of, because I felt alone.