Every few months, I end up taking a solo trip for the sole purpose of clearing my head. That definitely doesn’t sound amazing. Or fun. But, it is exhilarating.
I’m writing this from a no frills hotel in Quito, Ecuador. I arrived here on Saturday night after flying nearly the entire day, spent all of yesterday exploring the city and most of today either working or napping. I depart in a little over 12 hours and I couldn’t have been more glad about this time off.
Being an entrepreneur is a funny thing – you invest so much of your time and heart into focusing on one product, but the reality of the world comes striking down on you at some point. Call it survival. Call it reality. Or, like most people – call it fear. I call it energy to double down and push through hard and fast.
I’m fortunate enough that I have nearly unlimited resources to travel the world without making a significant impact on my bank balance. But, at the end of the day, even a 3 day trip such as this drives people to reality. In this case, reality being that having the best job in the world requires sacrifices that most people will never ever understand.
Ask anyone who has started a company. If they haven’t been through the insane highs and the brutal lows, they haven’t pushed themselves hard enough.
And often times – this is what makes my job the greatest job in the world. It requires a ton of sacrifices, but the rewards and the journey balances the entire thing out.
So, to those with all work and no play – get a balance.
And to those with all play and no work – what’s your secret? ;-)