The Weight Nobody Sees

I was talking with a business owner recently, and somewhere in the conversation he said, "I'm tired."

Not frustrated. Not angry. Just tired.

And I knew exactly what he meant.

Not the kind of tired that comes from a long week or a few late nights. The kind that comes from carrying things for a long time.

Most people see the business. They see the building, the employees, the customers, the trucks, and the numbers. What they don't see are all the things the owner carries that never show up on a financial statement.

The conversation you've been putting off.

The employee you're worried about.

The decision you know needs to be made.

The customer issue that follows you home at night.

The uncertainty nobody else knows you're thinking about.

I've noticed something over the years. Most owners don't complain much. In fact, they're usually the opposite. They keep going. They handle the problem in front of them, figure it out, and move on to the next thing.

That's one of the reasons they became successful in the first place.

But sometimes the same strength that helps you build a business can make it difficult to acknowledge when something is heavy.

You get so used to carrying it that eventually it just feels normal.

Kind of like wearing a watch.

At first you notice it's there. You feel it on your wrist. You adjust it throughout the day.

Then after a while, you stop noticing it altogether.

The watch didn't get lighter.

You just got used to it.

I think that's true for a lot of things in business.

Responsibility.

Pressure.

Expectations.

The burden of knowing people depend on you.

You don't always notice those things because they've become part of everyday life. But that doesn't mean they're not there.

Maybe that's why I pay attention when owners say they're tired.

Because most of the time they're not talking about sleep.

They're talking about weight.

And just because you've gotten used to carrying the weight doesn't mean it isn't heavy.

— Dave