Glenn Harper [00:00:00]:
Hello, everyone. Welcome to another edition of Living Fast Forward. I'm Glenn Harper.
Julie Smith [00:00:03]:
I'm Julie Smith.
Glenn Harper [00:00:04]:
What's going on, Julie?
Julie Smith [00:00:05]:
Well, I thought we were gonna rename the pot this podcast after your last outro?
Glenn Harper [00:00:10]:
Well, you know, sometimes it just pops in my head. I say what I feel, see what I think. But today's episode, I think we should explore what is the environment of an entrepreneur look like? Because there's what people think it looks like, and then there's the brutal reality of what it really is. What are your thoughts on that?
Julie Smith [00:00:27]:
Well, I think so
Glenn Harper [00:00:28]:
tell me why don't you tell me what you think people think it's like?
Julie Smith [00:00:32]:
Well, I think social media has glorified entrepreneurship. And so when you see social media, you see this perfect world of the entrepreneur. You see, oh, they're having so much fun. They may have all these people around them. They have this team. They get to do this. They have this. They go on these trips.
Julie Smith [00:00:52]:
But what you don't see is the reality.
Glenn Harper [00:00:57]:
The reality is is a it's a it's a tough pill to swallow, but that is why entrepreneurs do it because they have in their head a vision or way they wanna do things, and nobody else can interpret that but them. So it's a very isolated world that you live in as an entrepreneur. It's lonely, frankly. Like, you're there by yourself.
Julie Smith [00:01:17]:
Yeah. And I think we when we talk to a lot of our podcast guests, it it comes up, you know, as you get to a point in your career as an entrepreneur where you realize you're on an island.
Glenn Harper [00:01:29]:
All by yourself.
Julie Smith [00:01:31]:
And, you know, how did you get there? What what happened? Right? And it's it's like you I think an entrepreneurship trait is loneliness. Like, you're okay with being the lone wolf on the island and surviving.
Glenn Harper [00:01:43]:
Right. It's just at one time when you realize that who do you turn to to commiserate or to share with the successes or share the setbacks. If you don't have that person that is really, you know, part of you that you can talk to, whether it's a spouse unit, a business partner, a good friend, whatever that looks like, that person that helped you to share that burden, it's it's really hard because you gotta do it on your own.
Julie Smith [00:02:07]:
Well and I think if you look at the most successful entrepreneurs, you know, they do have teams of people that they have built and trust over time. But I think before that and before they got, you know, to that point, they could probably resonate with, you know, being on an island alone.
Glenn Harper [00:02:26]:
Because they're on the cruise ship drinking margaritas. They wake up when they're on a deserted island. How did this happen to me? And I'm here doing everything, and then you gotta bring it back in and say, okay. This is just the reality of it. And you recognize where you are and, like, well, what do I need to do to adjust that to get where I would like to be? But those are the peaks and valleys. And when you're at the top of the mountain, everybody wants to look at you and celebrate with you. At the bottom, nobody wants to be there with you. So you gotta figure out how to navigate that on your own, unfortunately.
Julie Smith [00:02:53]:
It's the craziest thing, the peaks and valleys. We talk about that a lot too on the podcast. And, you know, I think what you just described is so true. But I think also as you go through more peaks and valleys, your circle gets smaller and smaller because you want to know the people that are also cheering for you at the top are also the people sitting in that valley with you when it's low.
Glenn Harper [00:03:13]:
We're giving you a hand and pulling you up, and that's sometimes, that's all an entrepreneur needs. Just a little pat on the back, a little, hey. We gotcha. Hey. You're good. Go out and do it again for another day.
Julie Smith [00:03:23]:
When I and I think the whole point of this podcast is to understand, you know, relate with our listeners. Just say, like, we recognize the loneliness. We recognize that trait of an entrepreneur, and you're not alone, which is, you know, the whole purpose of starting this podcast, what, 3, three and a half years ago was because we saw this niche group of people and, you know, we related to them and the fact of, like, it's lonely out there. How do we create a sense of community around, you know, this loneliness of entrepreneurship where we're all going through the same things? We've all had the peaks and valleys. We've all, you know, been up at night questioning, what are we doing? And then in reality, it it's why we started the podcast was loneliness.
Glenn Harper [00:04:11]:
That we used to have somebody commiserate when realized that I'm not the only one. So I think that's the takeaway of this is that you're okay being by yourself and being lonely and have to struggle with those. But, you know, if you can expand that a little bit to have a few trusted people around you where you can limit that with, it can be quite helpful and therapeutic. Ultimately, it goes back on your shoulders. You gotta carry the burden as the entrepreneur because that's just the way it is. But it would be nice to be able to let that guard down and share that with somebody for a little encouragement or celebration, whatever that looks like.
Julie Smith [00:04:40]:
Or they might give you the shortcut.
Glenn Harper [00:04:41]:
Wouldn't that be cool? There you have it. Well, there's another edition of Life in the Fast Lane. This is Glenn Harper.
Julie Smith [00:04:48]:
And Julie Smith.