Tired? Sure, But For Business’ Sake, Keep Moving

April 13, 2011 in Business Advice,Featured with 7 Comments

I ran across a great quote today by George S. Patton, Jr.:

“Fatigue makes cowards of us all.”

Sounds kinda harsh. But there’s some brutal truth to that statement if you are even thinking about running your own business. Tired is likely to be one of your greatest enemies. If you give in (cower in fear) in the face of fatigue, you’re not going to make it.

Show me any successful entrepreneur, and I’ll show you someone who has sacrificed sleep for the greater good of moving the ball forward on their venture or passion. Granted, I’m all for getting proper rest, but the sad fact is you won’t be able to get a full night’s rest consistently and still accomplish the things you need or want to do. Sometimes the bills have to be paid after the kids are in bed. And the blog posts written. And the invoices prepared and sent. And the proposals prepared. And the website coded tweaked. And on and on.

Fatigue sucks. It’s not always fun to be tired and wanting to sleep and still churning for a little longer. But the secret is, if you really love what you’re doing, you’ll find a reserve of energy you never realized you had.

For business sake, the next time you think you’re too tired to keep going, soldier on like the good General Patton.

Photo credit: o5com

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  • http://profiles.google.com/daniburns27 Dani Burns

    Isn’t that the truth! Luckily, when we run out of midnight oil to burn, we’re bolstered by the support and encouragement of friends and colleagues who share those same passions.

    Keep working hard, Brandon. More great things on the horizon for you, I just know it.

  • http://www.CoreyCreed.com Corey Creed

    It’s true. There are times when we need to sacrifice sleep for lots of things we care about, including our family, friends, and even work.

  • http://mediaemerging.com Scott Hepburn

    Amen to that! Can’t tell you how many times I’ve thought “I can’t go any further…I’m too tired.” I try to remind myself I only get a few years to live my life. Sleeping through it seems like a tragic waste of this opportunity.

  • http://www.WebBusinessFreedom.com BrandonUttley

    You know it! Sadly I know too many people who use fatigue as a big crutch.

  • http://www.WebBusinessFreedom.com BrandonUttley

    Dani, you’re right about needing support of friends, colleagues and others. I find it also helps to remind myself that a lot of people have it much worse than me, and I need to quit bitching and take care of business.

  • http://www.WebBusinessFreedom.com BrandonUttley

    I know the phrase, “I can sleep when I’m dead” is pretty trite. But sometimes you do have to wonder about all the time spent sleeping that could be spent on something else. I guess that’s why I am so often up in the middle of the night, capturing a good idea, reading or solving a nagging problem.

  • http://www.curlykale.net Lancashire lad

    So very true! Ive been through the summer from hell, its been manic, up at 5, bed at 12…its now started to quiet down for christmas, but that summer bash as set us up very well.