The Journey Is the Reward

When I left Chicago and decided to start over in Texas, I knew I was in for some tough times. Creating something from nothing — in this case, an art career — that can sustain one’s life both monetarily and spiritually was a task full of hardships, many of which I couldn’t even conceive.

And yet, just as I always seem to find myself signing up for another marathon a few days after all the pain and suffering has subsided, I brushed off all potential obstacles and just jumped right in.

So it’s no surprise that at mile 20 of this metaphorical marathon, I find myself in a world of hurt, wondering: why did I make such a stupid decision?

Being an entrepreneur isn’t for everyone. It’s hard. Actually, it’s really really hard. But I have long been attracted to doing hard things, and my superpower is pain tolerance so I keep signing myself up for the crazy stuff.

Businesswise, I’ve done it before. I started from scratch as a personal trainer with one client. Then two. Then four. A couple years later I quit my day job and trained full time. A couple years after that I opened my own gym.

I’ve been through it. I know what to expect. Nothing is ever easy.

So as I do it all over again with an art career, I find myself going through much of the same growing pains. It ain’t easy. But I keep after it because it’s all I have passion for. And as I was reminded by reading Steve Jobs’ “Make Something Wonderful”, the journey is the reward.

The journey is the reward. People think that you’ve made it when you’ve gotten to the end of the rainbow and got the pot of gold. But they’re wrong. The reward is the crossing the rainbow.”

He’s so right. The reward is the entire process of having done it.

So while I smack my arms up and down in the choppy ocean of making a dream come true, I must stop myself every now and then. Must observe. I gotta make a point to take it all in and to appreciate: the journey is the reward. I hope you do too.

Now let’s get back to work!