It’s hard, until it’s not
You know a phrase that lives happily rent-free in my head every single day?
It was hard until it wasn't.
I heard this on an interview with a Founder who built and sold their brand, and I think about it literally every day - especially in these 3 ways:
1️⃣ If you have kids, you know the first few months are HARD - unpredictable sleep patterns, moments of inconsolable crying (you and the baby lol), loss of your freedom. But then somehow, it's not as hard — the babies sleep all night, you suddenly know the exact thing that calms them down, and your loss of freedom is replaced with joy as you're singing Blippi "Excavator" any time you spot a bulldozer 🚜 Being a new mom is hard... until it's not.
2️⃣ I've been working out with an incredible trainer since the beginning of January. 2 mornings a week, my awesome husband handles morning routine while I drive sit in traffic for 40 minutes to experience about 50 minutes of an I-can't-wait-until-its-over-why-am-I-doing-this-again workout with Jasmine. The first few weeks were HARD - I had to stop often during the bicycle crunches, I needed to go down in weight on my dumbbell so I could do the full sets, and I would try to negotiate the number of times I have to push a giant heavy box thing. (I still think that exercise is stupid). Though I still try to negotiate (unsuccessfully), somehow it's just easier (and more fun) and I actually don't cringe when I see a video of me working out (see my IG story!) Working out is hard... until it's not.
3️⃣ Almost everything about being a Founder is hard. Financially, it's hard. I started the company with only $10,000 in cash, that I cobbled together by taking on multiple music biz consulting projects and hustles like delivering Shipt groceries - working 80 hours a week to pull it all off. I didn't pay myself from DivaDance HQ for about 4 years. Did I mention we moved in with my parents to save money so that I could keep as much cash in the business as possible? Yep at age 39, I found myself staring at the ceiling of my childhood bedroom again. It's hard when your to-do list is long and your team is small, it's hard when you need infrastructure but you can't afford to build it, and it's hard when you know what a great franchise opportunity you have but no one knows about it. Until they do.... and somehow, almost 50 franchises later, exponential revenue growth each year, and wildly 15 employees on board — things that were once REALLY HARD, are ... well, less hard now.
So, this week, think about whatever you're going through that's HARD.
Keep going.
Because it's hard.... until it's not.