5 Ways Entrepreneurship Has Helped My Marriage
Being an entrepreneur is NOT the answer to your happiness riddle.
However, being an entrepreneur can absolutely bring you closer to your loved one.
Now, I’m not suggesting that you say screw your job because you want to improve your relationship with your significant other, but I am saying that if you are an entrepreneur, you should consider how it affects your relationship.
Brief Introduction of My Wife and I
We’re both veterinarians in our early 30s, and in the last two years my wife and I have made upwards of $200,000 collectively, and we recently turned away job offers totaling $260,000. We have a 3-year-old daughter and a baby due in 2 months! We’ve been on the brinks of divorce in the first 5 years of our marriage as I had an alcohol problem, and we just weren’t communicating at all. Needless to say, we stuck it out!
We have both started our own businesses (wife=mobile veterinary practice specializing in holistic care and acupuncture; me=Get MotiVETed, a company which provides wellbeing solutions for all members of the veterinary community), and while the beginning of the journey has been challenging, it has been a great experience. We are at the point where we are making a little money now, but we are at a point that we call scarcity.
The scarcity that has come with our entrepreneurial endeavors has taught us a few lessons that have brought us closer together, and in this article, I wish to share them with you.
- When the money is gone, a true love will still be right by your side — My wife has been by my side when I was addicted to alcohol, making lots of money, and our marriage was rocky. I’m happy to say that she has still been supportive. I know there are women (and men) who become less interested if the money and the lavish lifestyle were to disappear. Scarcity will certainly show people’s true colors. My wife seems to love me more without bringing home $3,000 every two weeks. I’m certainly enjoying the attention!
- Scarcity will HUMBLE your butt — I’ve always been more of the bread winner. I was the one people expected to go out and climb governmental and corporate ladders. For the most part, I did that, and I was also extremely unhappy. Needless to say, starting my own thing has humbled me. As such, I find myself wanting to ‘crawl to mama (my wife)’. Sometimes, when you’re making lots of money, you feel more secure than you actually are. The only way you can be truly secure is to love yourself regardless of all circumstances and conditions.
- It teaches you to love the simple things in life — the love of family, country, nature, soul, self, and beauty! All of these things are free! The false sense of security that money gives will take you closer to your ego and farther from your soul, the true you. I’ve learned this, and it has brought me happiness. Being able to be happy when I’m not making a ton of money has been such an amazing experience. If you can be happily broke, then I feel that you can certainly be happy. By me having more authentic happiness, it spills over into our marriage. You can’t love someone else until you have truly loved yourself!
- Teaming up to help each other pay bills and budgeting has been… romantic! lol — unless you are extremely budget conscious and frugal, if money ain’t a thing, then you are likely to waste money buying crap you don’t need. You certainly don’t need to go buy groceries together. A couple of days ago, we went to the grocery store, and before we got out of the car I looked at her and said, let’s see how much food we can get for $10. Let’s not go over even a penny. She agreed, and we set out for success! When we got to the checkout counter, it rang-up to $10.82. We looked disappointed, and then the discount kicked in and dropped it to $9.89! I was so excited, and for the first time in our 10 years of being together, we high fived each other in the grocery line at the check out counter. It was epic and corny at the same time! My wife was slightly embarrassed, though.
- Scarcity has rekindled our compassion for one another — when we first started dating, we would have done anything for one another. As time went on, we started being less compassionate towards one another. Like most marriages, we would argue about the most meaningless things. Now, we are so much quicker to make sure we are both doing fine mentally and emotionally.
- Bonus: The entrepreneurial lifestyle has given us the ability to have greater control over our schedules. This allows us to create more spontaneity. The hours we work are longer, but the way we spend them is completely up to us!
It turns out that neither of us really wanted money all this time. What we were both seeking was authentic happiness. We were looking for real love from someone who loved themselves. Now, we have that. The money will come in due time as we continue to work hard on a daily basis, but love comes first!
I know it’s cliche, but you can always get more money. However, you can’t get back time lost with a loved one. Enjoy your significant other, and treat your worldly possessions with a grain of salt!
Send your special someone a love text from your heart NOW, and brighten their day!
Lastly, be sure to give your loved one a kiss when you see them! You never know when your chances to do so will end!
If this article made you think about your loved one, please give it a clap!
