Expat Entrepreneurs: How Are You Feeling?

Posted on 03. Mar, 2010 by Emmanuelle Archer in Blog, Expat Entrepreneurs
1 comment

Do you ever get that unnerving feeling that you’re the only business owner in the world who occasionally gets tired, discouraged or overwhelmed? I know that I do, especially after reading too many high-profile business blogs or Twitter feeds. In those circles, it seems like everyone is cheerfully working 80-hour weeks, and launching new product after new product without the slightest trepidation.

We all know that’s not how it works. Running your own business is often hard, and it can be downright scary. So, enough with these displays of entrepreneurial bravado – it’s time to accept the fact that we’re human beings, not robots.

Acknowledging your feelings may be the best thing you’ll ever do for your productivity. All these tasks you’re procrastinating on? It’s not because of laziness or lack of self-discipline - it’s all about fear and vulnerability.

To deal with your emotions and prevent them from impacting your business, you have to be willing to look them in the eye. So go ahead and take stock today. How have you been feeling lately? And how are you feeling right now?

If you’ve been trained to believe that emotions don’t belong in the workplace, you may be afraid that you’ll look weak, unprofessional or easily flustered when you start acknowledging them fully.
Please. Give me (and yourself) a break. By choosing to take on two of the most difficult jobs that I know of, those of expat and entrepreneur, you’ve already proven how strong, resourceful and driven you are.

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Emmanuelle

Images by Adam Foster / Codefor (top) and tany kely (bottom), both via Flickr Creative Commons