“It’s just a flesh wound!”

“It’s just a flesh wound!”

November 7, 2014 Uncategorized 0

Monty Python and the Holy Grail is one of my favorite films, and at the gym this morning, the scene with the Black Knight popped into my head. I was lifting and  brooding on the never-ending nightmare joy that is being an entrepreneur; thinking about being an entrepreneur, you’re constantly having to convince people of your ideas and your value, in order to win them to your side, and create the circumstances your business needs to thrive. Usually, I’d say that it’s a liberating experience, and it is liberating when things go your way, and you start to understand how powerful your brand is. It is liberating, and I’m not whining. But it’s also a never ending melodrama process. Every day is a new day, every day is a new day to prove yourself. Oy.

Obviously, this situation doesn’t solely apply to entrepreneurs; anyone who is seriously engaged in the practice of changing their life, whether writing a book, or changing careers, or whatever, knows how grueling transformative the experience is.

I, for example, am in the midst of creating new partnerships and collaborations, with a variety of other businesses and individuals, and honestly, it’s been going amazingly well, I feel inspired and blessed all over again. But that doesn’t mean that when the alarm clock goes off at 5am, that I don’t sigh. I do. I chose this life, I’m doing exactly what I want to do–except for the bit about all the cat hair–and I still sigh when the day begins.

Anyway, I found myself thinking of this scene because, in a sense, the Black Knight, despite being a loony (or, perhaps, because he is a loony…?) represents The Struggle: chopped down to bits, he refuses to concede defeat. (Hmm, I’m suspecting I can relate to the Black Knight  because he’s clearly insane in the membrane…hmm…) But, if you’re trying to change your life in some way, you can’t give up. You cannot give up, because giving up is as much a process as commitment is, but whereas commitment will make you a better, stronger person in the long run…giving up robs you of everything. You can’t “kinda” give up on your dreams: once you start giving up on the things that make you excited to be alive, it’s a long, exhausting descent to…well, to not much of anything.

It’s Friday. If you’re engaged in The Struggle, pat yourself on the back, make a note of what you achieved this past week, think about what you’ll aim for next week, and be proud of whatever you were able to do. I know it wasn’t easy. I know you had to dig deep and screw up your courage. But hey, you did it! Shake up  a cocktail–it’s Happy Hour somewhere in the world–and here’s something to make you put everything in perspective with a good laugh:

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