I Beg Your Pardon, I Never Promised You a Rose Garden
Some days self-employment sucks the big one.
Today is one of those days.
And because I know that my current trauma is only an illusion, I find this Lynn Anderson song from way back stuck in my head:
I beg your pardon,
I never promised you a rose garden.
I could sing you a tune or promise you the moon,
But if that’s what it takes to hold you,
I’d just as soon let you go, but there’s one thing I want you to know.
You better look before you leap, still waters run deep,
And there won’t always be someone there to pull you out,
And you know what I’m talkin’ about.
So smile for a while and let’s be jolly:
Love shouldn’t be so melancholy.
Come along and share the good times while we can.
I beg your pardon,
I never promised you a rose garden.
Along with the sunshine,
There’s gotta be a little rain sometimes.
Little did I know, all those nights I laid awake as a kid, listening to the only radio station my little transistor radio could pull in at night after my mother threatened to take me out if I didn’t go to sleep, would have any kind of positive effect on me 35 years later. It was a country station, and to this day, I can sing along with just about every Top 40 country song from the late ’60s to the late ’70s. (Which is why I sometimes go to sleep with my MP3 player playing audio training calls I’ve recorded – the information still goes into the ol’ gray matter, whether I’m “paying attention”, or not. Weird how that works.)
The point is there are going to be days when you call up your coach and say, “Please remind me again why it is self-employment is better than a job. Why is this better than going somewhere, doing my thing for 8 hours and collecting a paycheck? Because you know everything else I’m responsible for will still be there waiting on me…I just wouldn’t have all the responsibility of an entire business piled on top of it all.” (Note: this is one very good reason – of many – to have a coach. So you have one to call up to talk you down out of whatever tree you find yourself in.)
Every successful entrepreneur you have ever looked at and thought, “I want what s/he has,” has had days like this…and likely still does. I do. Some of you out there look at me and think this very thought. (That realization still surprises me, by the way. Because, you know…I’m just me, after all. But I know some of you think it because you’ve said it out loud to me.)
So, if I’m sitting here thinking it about the people I admire and aspire to be like, and you are sitting there thinking it about me…guess what? There’s probably someone, somewhere, thinking it about you. (Gasp!) But it’s very likely true.
Now, does just knowing that someone else has a really crappy time of it in their business on occasion really make me feel any better? Should it, you?
Yes. Here’s why.
Bad days are just part of the deal. It’s not just me. It’s not just you. Along with the sunshine, there’s gotta be a little rain sometimes.
Some days self-employment sucks the big one.
But – by far – most don’t.
And in the words of my most excellent coach, “…But mostly self-employment is better because you get to do your own shit in your own way.”
Amen.
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January 23rd, 2010 7:37 am
Some days I hate being self employed because sometimes clients come few and far between, and then there's others where I don't have enough time in the day to complete all the projects I need to do. For the most part, even though I work more than 40 hours a week most weeks, I would still rather be a freelance programmer than working for someone else and collecting a paycheck.
January 30th, 2010 5:53 pm
There are some very positive and very negative messages that people have taken from this song.
On the positive side, of course, if one considers problems to be the natural course of things, and enjoys their solution. That is, enjoys using creativity to overcome obstacles, this song truly is beneficial.
Unfortunately, this same song is the favorite among alcoholics who use it to return condemnation to spouses and families who have rejected them because of their problem drinking. That, of course, instead of changing their own behaviors.
So the bottom line is that we make our own reality with regard to what goes on inside.
Great post!
Beth
ToysPeriod is a leading online shop specializing in lego sets and model railroad equipment.
February 5th, 2010 10:50 pm
inspiring song and inspiring post
today i can see future and have high confidence.
was i'm so scared what my future gonna be, no light, no inspiration, only can see my friend surpass me and that's really shameful. after 3 years process: reading book, seminar, personal coaching etc etc Finally i got what i want!
February 8th, 2010 4:44 am
Thank you for sharing another good and inspiring article to us. I love reading your blog,
February 19th, 2010 2:21 am
LOL, why do people who choose their own hours assume everyone else works a mere 8? I've never understood that. Not uncommon for me to put in a 11 or 12 hour day, and usually without a break; it's the nature of my employment. And yeah…it sucks somedays, particularly when the arthritis is bothersome.
I don't actually think you can make a blanket statement that one is better than another. I think it depends on how old you are, what your responsibilities are, how many kids are in college, and so forth. Work your 8 and go home….I don't know anyone who does that. That's such a time clock mentality and no one successful has that attitude.
Sandy
February 23rd, 2010 5:16 am
Great article. thanks for sharing these things. I really love your blog! =)
February 25th, 2010 11:35 am
As Sandy says. It's pretty easy to think that people who have a job just work 8 hours a day.
It depends on your mentality, if you have that mentality, I guess you also won't succeed as an entrepreneur.
I always work untill something is finished and I set goals for the day, if you have a 8 hours a day mentality, you won't have everything done on time.
Well I hope this changed your point of view on 'people with a job'
With best regards,
Frank
March 4th, 2010 1:13 pm
Great post. I agree that being self-employed takes the crap out of those tired hectic days when you need to get the job done and meet deadlines. Being self-employed also meets deadlines but you have the ability to control it. No fare, no traffic, and the best of all, no annoying boss.
Thank you for this wonderful post.