Pop Quiz Time.

What is the one thing that you can do in life where you can have days where you feel on top of the world, followed by days where you feel completely hopeless and defeated?

And there are also those days where you feel like you’re completely surrounded by amazing people, supported in every way, and other days where you just feel completely alone, and like you just have to figure everything out on your own. If you guessed being an entrepreneur, ding, ding, ding! You are right.

We are talking about ways to navigate the ups and downs of entrepreneurship in today’s Video PSA.

What it means being an entrepreneur

We’ve said it before, and we will say it again: being an entrepreneur is definitely not for the faint of heart. It is also not for someone who thinks that they’ll just go ahead and start a business so they can create a more “chill” lifestyle for themselves. Because the truth is that being a business owner can be very stressful. And news flash: It’s not always fun, right? It’s probably one of the most challenging things that you can do in your life.

So, why do we do it?

So, the question is, why do we do do it? Well, we do it because when you do it, and do it well, the rewards can be absolutely amazing. Obviously, you get to set your own life and lifestyle, you get to set your own schedule, and when you work for yourself, you have the ability to impact way more people than you could if you’re working for someone else.

Obviously, you have the potential to make a lot more money than if you’re an employee working for someone else, and the amazing thing is that it’s completely up to you. And that’s both the good news and the bad news, because it is completely up to you. You have the power to control how this goes, how your business goes, how your business runs, who you hire, and you have to be resilient, and you have to be willing to work through all the challenges that come up along the way on your path to being a successful entrepreneur.

Just show up!

So, with all the ups and downs that are inevitable with being an entrepreneur, there are going to be some days where you’ve got a long list of things to do that you just don’t feel like doing, right? You’re not going to want to always get on the phone and make those sales calls. You’re not going to want to have to deal with hiring your team, and training your team, or even potentially firing people from time to time. Or maybe you just don’t want to deal with the drama of everybody in your office.

But no matter what is going on around you, as the leader of your company, it is your job and your responsibility to keep going, to keep moving forward, to remember why you started your company in the first place. And at the end of the day, it is your job to just show up, and be a professional.

A great illustration of this is from Joe Dimaggio, former great Major League baseball player for the New York Yankees in the 30s, 40s, and 50s. Joe is a legend, a Hall of Famer, a 13-time All-Star in 13 seasons, someone I actually had the honor of meeting before he passed away, and getting to shake his hand, which was a huge thrill for me. But Joe was once asked, “Why is it that you’re always hustling, you’re always giving it your best, you’re always showing up and getting the job done?” And Joe said something to the effect of there is a kid in the stands today who is seeing me for the very first time and I owe him my best. Think about that next time you’re having trouble as an entrepreneur getting through your day.

You need to hold yourself to a higher standard

You owe it to your customers, your potential customers, your employees, and yourself to show up every single day and be your absolute best Here’s a little secret to being an entrepreneur, and being successful at it. You need to hold yourself to a higher standard than probably most of the population does. Show up every day just like Joe DiMaggio trying to be excellent and be the best that you can. You cannot just phone it in and expect that you’re going to reach your goals.

Act like a superstar

And this is not about being perfect. Perfection is not what you’re striving for. What you’re looking at is looking at yourself in the mirror at the end of the day, saying, “Did I do my best today? Did I make progress? Did I get closer to success?” It’s okay to make mistakes, you just don’t want to make the same mistake twice, right? Making progress. just remember that if you want to be a superstar, you need to act like one.

How are you going to show up?

Alright, we would love to know in the comments below, what is one thing you’re going to do today to make progress, to show up as the best version of yourself, so that you never leave any room for doubt?

In the meantime, please stay safe, stay well, and stay inspired to step into your entrepreneurial greatness with video.

Steve & Jaime Geffner

Steve & Jaime Geffner are video marketing strategists, and an award-winning husband & wife video producing team. They are the creators of Geffner Productions, where they inspire business owners to step into their greatness with video. Since 2010, they have produced, filmed and edited over 3,000 online videos for hundreds of business owners, for their websites, blogs, social media pages, online courses, live events, and more.