I am not an entrepreneur right now. I thought I was for a while there.
When I first began this blogging/writing/entrepreneurial journey, I thought I could follow in the footsteps of a Tim Ferriss. I realize now that I am not even in the same galaxy as people like him.
You see, the allure of writing and sharing ideas and then having people pay you money for that work is too good. It’s the life of an artist- doing what I like, engaging in lifestyle design, staying on the edge of innovation, and other things that I have only read about. I created a website: www.everythingislanguage.com and began writing.
The rub is this: Tim Ferriss does stuff.
I don’t mean to simplify, but he tries out experiments in his life and shares. People become interested and it trickles out from there.
I work as a speech/language pathologist and this is a field that is truly dominated by women. The last statistic I heard was somewhere around 96%-97% women. The entrepreneurial spirit was strong as I entered into the world of Teachers Pay Teachers. For those of you who are reading who don’t know about this, feel free to check out that website. What I encountered in trying to grow was women (and some men) who were light years ahead of where I was.
Growing email lists, making materials, slick websites, content that engaged me and pulled me in. I wasn’t there. And I am not there now.
What I am doing is trying to heal. That is the stuff that I am going to do. If some folks want to come along for a journey- I will endeavor to tell some stories. Stories about my life, stories about my past, stories about my work, and stories that I am going to work on getting better at telling.
The reason: because stories are what matter to me now. Stories help to heal. Stories enrich our lives. Stories deceive us. Stories tell us lies sometimes. Stories bring everything back to center.
This is my story right now- an educator who attempted to grow an entrepreneurial business. It didn’t work- whether because of my lack of effort, changes in focus, or just plain old lack of enthusiasm, but this much remains. There are still stories to tell.
If you look up “Memento Mori,” you will get some basic ideas and a really nice blog post from Ryan Holiday. Entrepreneurial blogging techniques will abound. Things to buy, free 7 day challenges in the stoic mindset, everything that I wanted my journey to become. I am not there, that is for sure.
The real meaning to me of “Memento Mori” is to focus on what matters right now. Death is certain, there is no doubt about that, but there are still stories to tell and that is what matters right now. Healing as a person and taking care of myself and my family, that is what matters right now. Working with my students and finding ways to help children with significant challenges communicate is what matters. Being the best father, husband, and person is what matters right now.
What matters to you right now?
