221B.6 — The Case of the Impatient Man
Patience. Phlegm.
That word?
Patience. Gollum.
I know, right? I’m not a fan of patience either. I’m like a walking Burger King commercial, I want it “my way” right now. Isn’t there a song about that too?
Aristotle said, “Patience is bitter, but its fruit is sweet.”
I’ve actually reaped the fruit of patience before, but I have such a short-term memory that it still just tastes bitter. I want things to be easy and short, rinse and repeat.
I’m a fast walker—no, not a race walker. I was at Disney recently with the family, and usually I make it a game to see how fast I can walk, while navigating the human gauntlet of Magic Kingdom pushing a stroller like I’m in some warped world of Pacman and Frogger. I find myself getting angry when I have to slow down to let my 6yr old catch up…the nerve right, seriously, what are you six!
Patience sucks.
A SITREP On My Journey:
Since I started this whole adventure, I’ve launched two products, with a third on the way (it’s a girl). Both are doing well, but like any new product, they’re slow. It takes a little longer to build, a little longer to launch, a little longer to build an audience, a little longer to grow.
Work isn’t easy. The grind isn’t easy. Patience isn’t easy.
I tell my son this all the time. Recently I told him about Justin Jackson’s (star forward of the 2017 National Champion UNC Tar Heel Basketball Team GO HEELS) work ethic—over the 2016 summer he spent 6hrs in the gym every day shooting hundreds, if not thousands, of jump shots. Work. Hustle.
The entrepreneurial journey is a hell of a lot of fun. But it’s a hell of a lot of work. In our culture we focus a lot more on the end result than we do on the journey. The journey is where character is built.
I’m trying to be more patient. I’m trying to be okay with going slower. It’s bitter, but I know I’ll reap the sweet fruit.
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Jason is an entrepreneur, designer, and writer // he’s starting a new business in 2017 and documenting every step // dad of 3 // affable
