Enough ALREADY

I am sick of hearing about the current “tough economy”.

Clearly I missed something. Exactly when was it easy to be in business? I feel like I did on my 36th birthday when my Mom informed me that 35 was a woman’s best year.

I never set out looking to find a career that was easy. Did you?

I didn’t seek out an easy school to earn my accounting degree. I had an unemployed father and three siblings when I announced I was going to an out -of-state University, right behind my sister who was already attending a different out-of-state University. I wasn’t seeking easy. I wanted a challenge, a new environment, a stretch. And that’s exactly what I found when I got there.

I wasn’t looking for the easiest major when I opted to major in accounting with a concentration in computer science. I wanted a degree that inspired me, that tested me, that made me work. I took courses outside of my major like drama and psychology and even chemistry because they were interesting – who wanted easy?

I wasn’t looking for an easy consulting engagement when I signed up to implement PeopleSoft for a client in Washington, DC while my family lived in Atlanta. I didn’t tell my two young children it would be easy for us to be separated all week while I commuted back and forth to Washington, DC.

My husband didn’t ask for easy when he signed up to start a second family with a young wife who was just building her career.  

I didn’t ask for easy the first time I ran my own small business in Atlanta, GA. I wanted fun, challenging, and interesting and that is exactly what I got from working with small businesses all over Atlanta.

No one said it would be easy to make partner as a woman in a small CPA firm in Atlanta, GA. Where’s the fun in that? It wasn’t easy to put in the hours that it took to get there – but it was worth it when I made it.  

It wasn’t easy to walk away from an accounting career as a partner so I could start over at the bottom in technology.  It wasn’t easy -  but it was right.  I was inspired, motivated and thrilled to learn new things and find new opportunities. And I found them.

It wasn’t easy to move my family from Atlanta, GA to Pleasanton, CA in the middle of my daughter’s ninth grade but it has made all of the difference. We wanted a challenge, a fresh start, a new perspective, a new environment for our daughter and we found it.

It wasn’t easy when I made the decision to start a new business in California but it was exciting. It was meaningful; I could put my heart and soul into something and make it grow. I could figure it out as I went and make a difference for people along the way. I worked hard, invested money, took risks, and kept learning. And I am continuing to do that now.

Easy?  Who needs it? I'll take tough any day.