Some Days You Get the Bear

For me, there is something immensely satisfying about waking up on a cool, sunny fall morning with a brand new week to look forward to. Our dogs all get excited and begin play-fighting to see who gets close enough for an ear scratch or a belly rub, a morning ritual that takes place daily even though every one of them will get their fair share of attention without scrambling for it, or having to nip their sister's hind leg. The coffee is brewed and ready for pouring, since having a coffee-maker with a timer is a must around our homestead, and then it's time to get ready for the long commute to work. For me, Bill, that consists of not spilling the coffee as I make may way upstairs to the office where I run both businesses.

This is perhaps the most exciting moment of the day, checking email to see if new opportunities have filled my inbox while I slept. (And no, I don't mean million-dollar fortunes left to me in the will of a Nigerian uncle I never knew that I had) And today, there was. What a great feeling, to know the moment when the hard work of running this or that business pays off. How many people want to run a company from their office?

Probably a lot. And here I am running two of them. No doubt the week will bring its fair share of challenges...in fact, it already has. I have already spent 20 minutes on the phone clearing up an issue with a website. No doubt there will be more setbacks and frustrations and irritations. But so what? That's all part of life, and whatever the way in which you earn your living, you're going to deal with problems at some point. But as I deal with them I will always remember that the business decisions I make are affecting my businesses, not somebody else's. For good or ill, this is my own personal little business empire, and I've got to tell you there's no feeling in the world like being your own boss.

Some days that feels like you are at a county fair, walking the midway with noise and people and barking carnies all swirling through your brain and demanding your attention. You stop at one of those booths where you throw softballs at some stone bottles to win a prize. Sometimes, you throw the softballs at the stacked milk bottles and miss, or just graze the bottom-heavy bottles that tilt and almost fall over, but don't quite. But some days your aim is true, you smack them dead on with a perfect throw, and it's you who knock down the bottles and get to pick your prize. And you want the big prize, the one directly overhead and placed so everybody who walks up can see it.

Some days, you get the bear.