When people talk about the benefits of being an entrepreneur, they usually speak in terms of getting to be their own boss and the financial rewards of owning a business.  I think these aspects of entrepreneurship are great, but my favorite thing about it is actually the opportunities it offers me to grow as a person.

Over the last few years, my business has given me the chance to try things I would never even have considered when I was a salaried employee.  I’ve had the opportunity to learn how to use recording equipment, draft marketing copy, design a website, make public appearances, write a book, interview authors, network with others in the personal development field, and—you knew it was coming—much, much more.

At a deeper level, beyond just learning cool new skills, I’ve had the chance to experience emotional highs and lows I wasn’t exposed to in my previous job.  One of the emotions I’ve had the opportunity to feel a lot more often is anxiety.  The first time I did each of the things I just described, I felt at least a little afraid that I was going to embarrass myself and that I was “wasting my time.”  The fear showed up as a tension in my chest and shoulders.

Expanding My Experience

When that fear and tension arose, I used the approach that my mindfulness practices have taught me for dealing with sensations that seem intense and threatening.  I just sat there, relaxed my body, breathed, and allowed the feeling to peak and then pass away.

When I allowed the feeling to flow through me, I came to realize that my body could take it—that having the feeling couldn’t actually hurt or destroy me.  On the other side of this experience, I felt calm and relaxed about the action I was going to take, and similar issues that came up later on didn’t bother me as much.

So, entrepreneurship has given me a chance to expand the range of sensations I can be with and tolerate.  That’s what I think personal growth is really about—becoming willing to be with more and more sensation, until you have total choice in how you can live your life, and you aren’t shying away from any experiences because you’re scared of what you might feel.  Buddhists call this developing “equanimity”—freeing yourself from suffering by learning to accept any experience life gives you.

“Successful” But Stagnant

When I worked full-time as a lawyer, I mostly sat in my office and drafted briefs and letters.  This was much easier for me to do than what I’m doing now.  Writing is one of my strongest natural talents, so I could usually rest assured that the work I did would be well-received.  It was an ideal job for me in many ways, but it just didn’t offer the same growth opportunities.

Because I didn’t have to confront fear, or other intense emotions, very often, I didn’t get much chance to expand my capacity to tolerate sensation.  So, even though I was making good money and had a job others saw as prestigious, my personal growth felt stagnant.

One key reason I decided to start my own business was that I knew there were so many experiences I hadn’t explored yet, and I wanted to expand the boundaries of who I was and what I was capable of.

Process Over Product

The perspective I’m offering here is different from what many of us are used to.  In our culture, we’re accustomed to valuing only the product—the end result—of what we do in our careers.  We suffer through the work day and the tasks we have to do—hating the process—to chase the money, prestige, vacations, and so on that our careers promise us.  And if we end up losing our job or our business fails, we often think we have “nothing to show for” the time we spent working.

When we think in terms of using our work as a tool for personal growth, we start to see how valuable the moment-to-moment process of working can be.  If we do something for work that constantly pushes our edge—regularly trying new and sometimes scary things like public speaking, making affiliate deals, and so on—we constantly grow our capacity to tolerate experiences.  We learn to be at peace with more, and more intense, sensations in our lives.

So, even when we try a strategy for growing our business and it fails, we can be sure we’ve grown as human beings by trying.  And when we succeed at something, that success is just icing on the cake of the inner strength and freedom we gain by taking on a new challenge.

I’m on the Radio this Wednesday!

I’m pleased to announce that I’ll be appearing on Seeing Beyond with Bonnie Coleen on Wednesday, June 24, at 7:30 a.m. Pacific (U.S.) time.  Bonnie has interviewed some amazing guests in the past, including Wayne Dyer, Doreen Virtue and Guy Finley, and I’m honored to be added to that list.  I hope you can join us.

Related posts:

1. Interview With Entrepreneurship Coach John Van Dinther
2. Puffins Are Adorable (And Why This Matters)
3. “Authentic Marketing,” Part 5: A Personal Share
4. Getting To The “Heart” Of Public Speaking Anxiety
5. Would You “Survive” A Career Change?