Running a business is not always a slice of cherry pie.
Websites malfunction. Drama happens. Excellent work gets overlooked.
You slave over a blog post only to have it go unnoticed, unappreciated, with no “comments” or “shares.”
Or maybe “marketing” feels unnatural and you’ve got to hustle and sweat, putting yourself wildly out of your comfort zone, just to get those first few clients in the door.
Or maybe you spend two hours crafting a mind-blowingly-amazing newsletter only to have your newsletter system freeze up on you and poof… your work vanishes. Empty screen. Start over.
I get it.
I’ve struggled with all of these challenges and hiccups, and countless others, in the 10 or so years that I’ve been self employed.
I know I’m not alone.
On a recent conference call with about a dozen women — all self employed consultants, coaches, and entrepreneurs, plus a few people who are gearing up to make the leap from the corporate world into more creative careers — I noticed the call quickly turning into a moan-fest.
Everyone was complaining about all of the annoying issues that make running a business… not so fun. All of the complaints were perfectly valid. Yes, sometimes technology sucks. Yes, sometimes you work hard and nobody seems to care. Yes, sometimes you feel invisible. Yes. It hurts. It sucks. It’s hard.
But…
I found myself thinking…
What about the fact that ALL of this is a freaking MIRACLE?
I forget that. Often.
Maybe you do, too.
Here’s the truth:
As women in business, today, we have tools, opportunities, online communities, resources, and platforms that our grandmothers — even our mothers — could not have even DREAMED of.
Yeah, I know, your newsletter software isn’t perfect. But how about the fact that it is a MIRACLE that you can have an idea, wiggle your fingers on a keyboard, and then distribute that idea to dozens, hundreds, or thousands of people instantly, with the click of a button? MIRACLE.
Yeah, I know, your iTunes podcast doesn’t have any “stars” or “reviews” yet and your ego is bruised. But how about the fact that you can record a freaking radio show in your LIVING ROOM and then disseminate it to the masses and it can happen TODAY, with absolutely no barrier to entry? And if you don’t know how, good news: there are five zillion people on YouTube who would love to walk you through a video tutorial for free.
Zillions more who would love to do it for you, and you can pay them using magic digital dollars that fly through PayPal. MIRACLE.
It’s OK to get frustrated about your life, your business, your career, your buggy software, and so on. It’s OK to have emotions. You are human, not a robot.
But try not to lose sight of the fact that all of this is a literal, bonafide miracle.
Email is a miracle. Paypal is a miracle. The Internet is a miracle. Google is a miracle.
That fact that you are alive, in this time and place, and that you have the ability to read this blog post, right now, is a miracle.
Easy work is a miracle. Tough work is a miracle. Perfect software is a miracle. Imperfect tools: still a miracle.
Everything is a miracle.
Stay in the miracle.
