There's a Haitian proverb that the author Tracy Kidder made famous: "Beyond mountains there are mountains." It's a metaphor meant to say that when you solve a big, challenging problem, another one presents itself.
It's not the most sunny, optimistic outlook, but it's one that I think anyone trying to build a business would do well to embrace. I've always been drawn to intimidating challenges: Ironman races, backwoods expeditions, mountaineering, etc. Building a business isn't all that different.
It's grueling work, it takes a long time, but the payoff can be tremendous. We've been fortunate to build MojoTech into a business that we can be proud of, one where we get to work with incredibly smart and motivated employees and clients every single day, solving challenging problems and enjoying every minute of it. But it took a lot of hard work to get here.
As paradoxical as it sounds, once you find comfort in discomfort – and understand that there's more discomfort to come – perseverance, will, determination, or whatever you want to call it, becomes easy. Once you no longer fear the challenges, solving them simply becomes a matter of knowing that eventually, you will.
You probably have a challenging task that you've been putting off for weeks or more. Tackle it today. Be comfortable with the discomfort. It's an approach that has guided me in both business and life and one that pays dividends long into the future. •