It’s officially been a week since I left North Carolina and the cozy confines of a career, salary, benefits, structure and my team to move back home to start my own home remodeling and investment Company. Born and bred in Denver, the strangest thing is happening.

Though I missed home and the familiar sites and sounds, I still don’t feel “at home”.

Starting with a week ago today, when I woke up in a strange bed in a house that I grew up in and theoretically should have felt at ease. Everything that used to be easy, was like performing brain surgery. After chugging down a quick latte, sitting in morning traffic for a good hour (something that there was nothing of in Hickory) I found that an old print shop that we used in the past for printing business cards and other marketing material had closed. After Siri and I drove to a few other print shops unsuccessfully due to lack of good service (a topic that I’ll cover in a later article) and cost, I finally found a print shop that was able to deliver a quality and cost effective product.

Toward the end of week, (Jolly St. Nick set my production back a few days) I made it downtown to the city building to inquire about boring, but much needed stuff like having the proper license and tax information. After sitting for an hour and having a thrilling discussion with a gentlemen in tight jeans and a hemp shirt over how his marijuana retail business was going to be the Apple of the weed industry (now legal in the aptly named Mile High City), I finally made it up to have a few minutes of the clerks time. “Please don’t tell me you’re here for a marijuana retail license”, she said in a half-joking, half- ready to punch me in the face manner.

After a brief chuckle, I explained what I was there for. She politely explained that I was in the wrong area and had to meet with two other departments, setting me back another two excruciating hours of waiting. Oy vey.

The rest of the week was a bit of a cocktail party; a little bit of everything. Something that came as a surprise was the amount of downtime. After doing the friends and family thing, I found myself waiting around for things such as logo completion and marketing material. In-between I felt that I was in an unfamiliar zone that I haven’t felt since graduating high school.

“What’s the next step?”, I found myself constantly pondering. I’m pretty sure this is what people mean when they say to get “outside of your comfort zone”.

Steve Jobs once said, “The heaviness of being successful, was replaced by the lightness of being a beginner again. Less sure about everything.”

For the first time in a long time, I’m definitely less sure about everything, but confident in my experience, ability to build relationships and in “having the chops” as Mr. Vaynerchuk likes to say (Youtube him), to jump in with the big boys and hustle.

The excitement of the possibilities drives me once again, just as it did 8 years ago as I started my climb up the shaky corporate ladder. The feeling of being a beginner fuels and challenges me. I constantly remind myself that building and successfully running a company is a marathon, not a sprint.

As I wrapped up the first week, two things became crystal clear:

This climb, with all its unfamiliar terrain is going to be 1000% harder. I wouldn’t want it any other way. The second thing is that “perseverance” will be my favorite word in 2014.

I’m almost certain that it will be needed.

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