• How Common is Stress in Entrepreneurs?
• Why stress is killing businesses
• Use You Vision to Motivate You
• Key Components to a Vision

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One of the most stressful careers in the world is being an Entrepreneur.

But if we don’t have joy in our business, what’s the point?

It’s not enough to be passionate about your business,  you must use your vision, or your ‘why’ to fuel you and your team through hard times.

How Common is Stress in Entrepreneurs and Why It Matters for the Economy?

We don’t go into business for ourselves to be stressed, frustrated and hopeless. But it’s unavoidable. This is because of the natural stresses that come with the business that overwhelm them in addition to personal and unexpected issues that can drive anyone to frustration.

This is exasperated even more with the unspoken societal rule that sharing out struggles equates to weakness.

72% of Entrepreneurs are directly or indirectly affected by mental health issues compared to just 48% of non-Entrepreneurs. (NIMH)

45% of Entrepreneurs report feeling stressed in the business, about 3 points more than other positions according to a 2014 Gallup Index Survey (Inc.com).

While it’s not the majority, this statistic is staggering given that 66% of jobs in the US were created by Entrepreneurs.

If we can’t perform at our best capacity our business suffers, the workforce suffers, the economy suffers.

How Stress Kills the Vision for our Business

It’s easy to allow stress to cloud our vision, especially when we don’t even believe in our vision and don’t see a vision for a better future

If we don’t have a vision that we believe in, then we have no direction for our business because our vision is based on our preferred future. This preferred future should encompass everything that we want in life for ourselves and our business. It should also drive our organization’s mission, as well as draw on our own beliefs.

Simon Sinek suggests that someone who is passionate works tirelessly to “advance the vision they have adopted or created”. The stressed individual toils away in a purposeless cycle that isn’t grounded in something they truly believe in. They lose their inspiration.

Sinek reminds us that both passion and stress are outputs. To be passionate, we must use the input, the vision, or our “why” to fuel us. This vision of the world we want to live in consumes us. It breathes life into us and guides us on a path. That doesn’t mean that everyone must be a natural visionary. All we must do is find that spark to ignite the flame of our passion. Find a vision that wakes up the passion in you to do more and do better.

To Create a Vision that Sustains Us, We Have to Dream.‍

At some point, we are taught to stop dreaming big. I’m sure you can remember having dreams as a kid to live in a castle, travel the world, or go to outer space. But as we get older, we’re forced to change and minimize our dreams to be more realistic to the environment around us. As a result, our genuine desires are reduced to something more manageable and acceptable. But that’s not what dreams are.

A dream is our ultimate lifestyle without limits. It’s not anchored by the realistic standards set by those around us. It taps into what we want to do and who we want to be.

Once we create a dream that taps into the desires we have for our life, then we can create a powerful vision that will guide our business in that direction.

With every client I have, we go through a Dream Builder exercise because this is the first step to creating a vision that will inspire them and their team.

Key Components to include in a  Vision that Motivates You

As mentioned previously, the mission should incorporate your beliefs. So let’s start there. What are your beliefs as a person and how can you apply it to your business? To set some parameters for your beliefs:

• Must meet the organizational goals as well as community goals.
• Are a statement of their values.
• Are a public/visible declaration of their expected outcomes.
• Must be precise and practical.
• Guide the actions of all involved.
• Reflect the knowledge, philosophy, and actions of all.
• Are a key component of strategic planning.

Take your beliefs and use them to craft a strong and compelling vision that you and your team will be passionate about. This will return the joy you once had when you first began your business and set the company on the course towards your “preferred future.”

If at any point you have trouble crafting a vision and uncovering what repressed dreams you have for yourself and your business, reach out to us. We’d love to help you through one of our complimentary coaching sessions.