The past couple of months have challenged my entrepreneurial spirit, forced me to reorganize my business, and honestly made me want to quit running a business all together! There are times when a business owner cannot see the fruits of their labor on a daily basis. There are times when a business owner wants to walk away and lose their true identity by melting into the commonality of convenience. There are times when a business owner does not see the financial results of the physical investment. Simply put, there are times when a business owner wants to quit and throw in the towel!

Owning and operating a business defies all rational thought! The idea that an individual would walk away from a “steady paycheck,” good credit, great meals, and some of life’s luxuries to start a business seemingly doesn’t make sense! What person in their right mind would focus on a dream and actually believe that it can happen? What person in their right mind would literally live every week and every day on the edge? What person in their right mind would risk everything on an idea? Isn’t that crazy?

The reality is when you choose to be an entrepreneur, you know the risks that are involved. Business owners know that they can have periods of prosperity and periods of pain all in the same month! Business owners know that the reason they risk everything is because they know what they envision can happen. A true business owner cannot quit, even when they want to, because they know that their life depends on it. Even when I want to quit, even in my darkest hour of business, even when it seems irrational, I cannot quit because God designed me for this path! The hope that drives an entrepreneur is completely based on faith. The faith that a few years of trials, troubles, and financial strain will produce a lifetime of triumph and comfort. Even when I want to quit, I can’t. If I quit, I am giving up on everything that I am destined to be. If you quit, even when it seems impossible, you are giving up on everything you are destined to be! I wrote a book entitled “Life in Rhythm and Rhyme” that is my personal testament to never giving up. In the book, I utilize poetry to express the emotion behind the words and chapters. I wrote the book for myself to share with others. In one of my darkest hours, I wrote this poem:

If you think your beaten, you lost

If you think you lost, you have

If you want to quit, you will

If you think to throw in the towel, it will find the ground

If you want to give up, its done

If you fight to see it done, you’ve won

If you live for the positive, you smile

You walk with grace through a trial

If you feel unbeaten, you endure

If you trust in God, you’ll be sure

If you live for purpose, you will give

You will triumph through disaster no mater what it is!

If you focus on joy, you don’t need to be happy

If you feel victorious, you have discovered life’s mystery!

You see, you unlock the mystery of life when you realize that what your going through is not the reality. What you see, through faith, is the reality! Your circumstances are a gateway to your greatness and mine! Through great trial comes greater triumph. If you are like me and you feel at times that your purposed path is challenging everything in you to make it, then I say you are on your way. We must push through midnight, press on through struggles and fight like our lives depend on it to see what God has put in us happen–because your life and mine does depend on it! The road less traveled is the pathway to the success seldom achieved! We can make it and we will!