Gotta Remember To Be The Man In The Arena

I still think of that poem: the man in the arena. I love it, it is so representative of living as a bootstrapping small business owner in today’s global world. Sure, maybe I am a bit more extreme, unfocused, and impatient then other entrepreneurs and small business owners….but the current environment is the same. It’s a fight, it’s a struggle, and no matter what, if you play in this game, you are gonna get dirty.
Because most people in life are spectators, and critics of others, you have to keep pushing yourself to stay motivated. No one is going to motivate yourself better THAN YOURSELF. Suppliers, customers, staff, and even trusted business partners….there will always be times you are on your own, in the arena, and have to fight for yourself.
Sell, hustle, create, manage, build, grow, scale. Sure I can get a job, sure I can try to find investors. But I have tried those, maybe didn’t know them so well at that point, but taking money from others means they are the ones giving the orders. And yes, customers are giving you money, and therefore they are the boss. But its different from a boss or from an investor / business partner. You can hedge, you provide the service or product you promised and there shouldn’t be any problems so long as the customer’s financial position stays there.
Maybe I just enjoy taking things the hard way, the easy way seems to easy. But really, all businesses today are faced with these international and global issues like overseas manufacturing, outsourcing, warehousing and logistics in multiple countries / locations, its just a matter of the company facing the facts or not. I want to take this challenge head on, and have contacts and experience in all of these developing globalizations.
Knowledge is power, network is access to choices. More choices = more flexibility = leverage.
This man in the arena poem also makes me think of the QUEEN song

Buddy you’re a boy make a big noise
Playin’ in the street gonna be a big man some day
You got mud on yo’ face
You big disgrace
Kickin’ your can all over the place

We will we will rock you
We will we will rock you

Buddy you’re a young man hard man
Shoutin’ in the street gonna take on the world some day
You got blood on yo’ face
You big disgrace
Wavin’ your banner all over the place

We will we will rock you
We will we will rock you

Buddy you’re an old man poor man
Pleadin’ with your eyes gonna make you some peace some day

You got mud on your face
You big disgrace
Somebody better put you back in your place

We will we will rock you
We will we will rock you

I remember being younger and listening to this song during sports games…..entering the court playing this song. Its about INSPIRING. Its about motivating. Its about believing in yourself that you can do it. And if you fail, at least you tried, and you gotta GET BACK UP AGAIN and be ready for more.
And that is why many sports players are good business leaders, because it is a mental game more then anything – sports or business. Its about believing you can take that shot and MAKE IT. Not hesitating and doubting that maybe you are not ready to make the shot, that someone else is better, or can block the shot. IT IS TAKING THE DAMN SHOT.
Riding my emotional rollercoaster, I have talked to others, and we all ride ups and downs. There are bad days, where the world seems to be against us…but then a few days later…everything lines up and it makes sense why that bad day happened. We have to remember this.
If we never had bad days, how could we appreciate the truly good days? And even if you take the safer bet and get a salaried job – you are still gonna get rocked at your job once in a while. And probably have to hold your breath to your boss or someone in the office, holding back your rage – for fear of losing your sole income. We are all in this position, but at least if I am driving the car and it crashes, I can blame myself.