Why Sometimes It’s Okay To Just Be Okay
Last year, I took time off school to start a business. I became an entrepreneur.
And it didn’t go well.
It was messy. I made mistakes. I used up all the money I put into my company and got nothing back.
Welcome To Entrepreneurship
I lived in the world of entrepreneurs. A world of networking and hustle, self-growth and competition.
It’s a crazy world to be in with an amazing culture.
But it’s also a ton of pressure.
For a year, I did everything that entrepreneurs are supposed to do. I did everything they told me:
- I read books. Non-fiction, because you don’t read for pleasure, you read to know more than the next guy.
- I built all the “good habits”. Morning rituals, Scrum, efficient scheduling, and task managing.
- I studied the greats. I learned about successful startups. I learned how they came to be, and tried to copy all of them.
I did everything they said to. But there was one thing no one ever told me.
No one ever told me it was okay to just be okay.
We were all chasing the perfect entrepreneur’s life. A unicorn startup that would change the world and make us rich. A book that would make us famous. A life of self-realization that would make us the best people.
And if you weren’t chasing the perfect life, well, something must’ve been wrong with you.
But Here’s What I Have To Say…
The pressure entrepreneurs feel to be perfect is insane. It’s just crazy.
The thing is you’ll never hear it from us. Instead, we’ll tell you the next book to read, the next habit to build, the next expert to follow.
We’ll tell you to give up your mornings and nights, your weekends and your holidays. We’ll tell you everything to be the ideal entrepreneur.
But here’s what I want to tell you instead:
Sometimes, it’s okay to just be okay.
And maybe I’m the only one who needs to hear these words. Maybe I’m the only one who’ll say them to me. But if you need them too, they’re right here:
- You don’t have to be the best. As long as you enjoy what you do, you’ll be just fine.
- You don’t have to go down in history as one of the greats. Because to the people that love you, you already are one.
- You don’t have to change the world. You can start by making it better for the people that matter to you.
- You don’t have to be a multi-millionaire. And if money’s your only goal, you’ll never have enough.
- You don’t have to get it perfect the first time, or even the last. You won’t ever get it perfect, and that’s okay.
It’s okay to make mistakes. It’s okay to step away from the hustle. It’s okay to be imperfect.
Now, you might just read this as a sour teenage kid trying to give himself an excuse to quit. After all, plenty of people try and fail for years before they make it.
But I’m not giving up. This isn’t about giving me or you an easy out.
It’s about freedom. Knowing that I don’t have to call myself a failure for not being an Elon Musk or a Steve Jobs gives me the strength to keep trying.
It means I can keep learning from my mistakes without hating myself for making them.
So that’s why it’s okay to just be okay.
Because sometimes, we just need a chance to step away and be nothing more than okay.
