The Urge to Quit
Fatima burst through the door of her ground level apartment, nearly dropping her purse and laptop bag. Sammy, her small Maltese, scurried from his pen with excitement, jumping up to greet her with wet kisses. Fatima squatted low to play with her dog for a few minutes before retiring to the couch. She was exhausted to say the least. Her commute consisted of two Metro train transfers that often featured a delayed train, which added extra time to her commute home. The last leg of her journey happened to be a crowded city bus full of rowdy teenagers and overly eager men. This unfortunately become the norm after her purple Nissan Sentra gave out.
With a heavy sigh, Fatima slid her laptop out of her bag. That evening she planned to review her sales numbers. Five years ago, almost to the day, she opened her own online Afrocentric beauty products store. Her journey as an entrepreneur hadn’t been an easy one— far from it. From a painful breakup, demanding job and stressful financial situation, Fatima flirted with the idea of throwing in the towel more times than she could count. The business has garnered just a few thousand in sales over the course of its life, certainly nothing that would fund a life at the beach.
The reality of being a business owner was not exactly what the social media entrepreneur guru’s said it would be. Fatima had dreams of being able to quit her job and write her own ticket. “What the hell am I doing wrong?” She mumbled to herself as she laid eyes on the depressing numbers. “Ten sales this month? Really?” Fatima slammed her laptop shut, leaned her head back and rubbed her eyes. She struggled to keep the tears at bay. Her mind raced a mile a minute as the fear of never making it began to weigh heavy on her soul. She read every entrepreneurial book and ordered every success program. Nothing helped; the sales needle barely moved. The frustration set in and began to consume her. Some of her well meaning friends, who hated to see her so distraught, recommended she focus on her real job and keep the business as a hobby. If there was a perfect time to quit, it’d surely be now.
***
The urge to quit comes at you strong some days doesn’t it? I’ve always said being an entrepreneur wasn’t for the faint of heart. We often go into our ventures with lofty goals and visions of major success, but somewhere during the process, we quickly realize it takes a lot more than hope to be successful. Taking it a step further, the urge the quit comes at us at many points in life in general. Think of all that it takes just to make it to the end of the week sometimes. Think of how many times you’ve out your all into something only to have it fall flat. In my toughest moments in life, I’ve learned to lean on my why. Your why consists of your motivations to do whatever it is that you do. It’s your compelling cause that drives you to continue to get out of bed each morning. You must rely on this deeper meaning, if you are going to make it through the moments when quitting feels like it’s the right thing to do.
I encourage you today to resist the urge to quit in your life. I ask you to dig deep within your soul and connect with your spirit. Things worth having in life rarely come easily and I’d argue that there is no such thing as an overnight success in any capacity. There is no singular method for success also. If things aren’t working right now, re-adjust and keep attacking things from a different angle. Educate yourself during the process. Reading changed my life and I can say with full confidence that it will change yours too. Get yourself around people with vision. Accountability helps to keep the fire burning. I’m a firm believer in doing whatever it takes to grow forward. When life tries to knock you down, I want you to get back up. You’ve got the power within you to see your dreams come to pass. All things are possible, which includes you thriving in the winners circle. Like my good friend always says, “believe in the power of you.” Your dreams are worth fighting the desire to give up. Destiny awaits, what are you going to do?