I can totally put my hand up and say I lost my integrity for a while. When I was running festivals, my business was projecting this image of such an awesome lifestyle, but the reality looked very very different.
In a world that is filled with opinions of what your business should be doing, and how you should be showing up, it’s easy to lose track of who you really are and end up not being totally authentic.
Fact: If you wanna become a really good surfer, you’re going to need to get good at paddling. And if you want to create a business that you ADORE? Find ways to enjoy the ‘paddle’. Lean into what makes it fun. Train hard, educate yourself so it becomes easier. Seek out your tribe. Identify your best path.
We’re surrounded by so many myths of overnight success, of stories about tech entrepreneurs who came up with an idea for an app and 6 months later were pulling in millions of dollars of investment. So we’ve ended up in this crazy space that looks a little like Disneyland for entrepreneurs. Full of colour & magic & big dreams. Polished, shiny and seemingly real.
And you know what it’s done? It’s made entrepreneurship sexy. Everyone wants to do it. Suddenly it’s cool to be an entrepreneur.
But so many people are starting up businesses and building brands with completely ridiculous expectations in their heads. And with ridiculous expectations come painful reality checks.
Thankfully, many of the worst cases of greenwashing were named and shamed, and consumers have become far more educated and are willing to ask uncomfortable questions of brands. We're not as gullible as we used to be, and most of us know that just because a bar of chocolate says 'natural' on it doesn't it comes from ethical or sustainable sources.
But there's a new kid on the block. And it's called social good.
Here’s the thing: Figuring out your why isn’t easy. It’s not just a case of reverse engineering and coming up with something that would look good on a bumper sticker.
But holy smokes, once you’ve nailed it? Once you’ve connected to your why? Powerful stuff happens. I could talk all day about the benefits of knowing your why and infusing it into your business. But I want to touch on just one area today, aligning your business to your why, and using it as a compass moving forwards.
I didn’t go to university. Well, I guess I did, but only for 8 weeks, and then I decided it wasn’t a good fit for me & left for another adventure.
I look back at that decision now and am pretty stoked with it. Proud, in fact, that at age 18 I was able to tune into my gut instincts and realise that I had made the wrong choice. I remember the 3 years that followed really well. The majority of my friends were off at uni studying and I was finding the balance between working 7 days a week for 6 months every summer (surf coaching, personal training & bartending ) with the freedom & adventure of jumping on a plane every winter with nothing more than a backpack, my surfboards and a pretty small chunk of cash to keep me going.
I’ve written before about rigidity in business. And how it has the potential to seriously impact your entrepreneurial journey. But I also know that it can be a super tricky lesson to learn. We invest so much into our work, that it can feel impossible not to become attached to it.
But becoming attached to an idea can be dangerous. I’ve seen it happen time and time again (and I’ve been guilty of doing it myself !).
