Life is just one big juggle – the juggle of compromise. Some days I resent the juggle; I just want to do what I want. Selfish? Yes probably, but I think selfishness is a trait closely aligned with commitment. And we are all committed to our business, right?
Commitment is defined as: “the act of binding yourself (intellectually or emotionally) to a course of action”. Selfishness is defined as: “concerned chiefly or only with yourself and your advantage to the exclusion of others”.
Here’s the thing – in order to bind yourself to a course of action (i.e., be committed), you MUST be concerned only with yourself, otherwise you won’t have that full commitment. Look at Ironman competitors; they are extremely selfish – and have to be – otherwise they would only be partially committing to their goal of completing an Ironman competition.
Or look at successful entrepreneurs; they are determined, committed to their cause and, ultimately, have been selfish to achieve that success.
An entrepreneur has to focus solely on that business and what it is trying to achieve when building a business. They won’t focus on what everyone else is doing, and will “exclude” others from their radar to achieve their ultimate goal. Some mornings, I’m selfish when I attend Crossfit because I don’t see my family until later that night. But, ultimately, the increased fitness and better health and wellbeing I’ve achieved from attending Crossfit outweigh the fact I don’t share breakfast with my family these mornings. And I’m in a much better frame of mind when I’m with them as a result doing Crossfit. We all are selfish each and every day. We need to be; we don’t achieve personal growth or business success without it. Don’t feel guilty; embrace it. You and your business will thank you.
