A warning ahead: this blog post is going to be different. I will not talk about celiac disease, delicious gluten-free cereal exactly how you love it, and not even say much about Custom Choice Cereal. Instead I will share some of my experiences and thoughts on living the life of an entrepreneur.

It sounds so sexy: “You’ll be your own boss!” “You’ll be the next Bill Gates!” “Think of me when you’re on the cover of Forbes Magazine!” But the hard truth is that it is not all sexy. And let’s be honest about the likelihood of the last two predictions materializing…

Yes, you will be your own boss and there is nobody to tell you what to do or when to do it. However, that means you have to figure out yourself what to do, when to do it, and how to do it. That is not at all an easy task! Since your work stays with you 24/7 you will also be – at least mentally – at work more or less 24/7. And while there is no boss to command you around, an entrepreneur soon realizes the comfort of a paycheck – in exactly the moment he or she is not getting it anymore… Finally, there is the responsibility that comes with providing an income not only for yourself but for your employees and partners along the supply chain. Success breeds burden.

Building a company from the ground up will guarantee two things: lots of frustration and incredible joy. Trust me, these two go hand in hand! While this daily roller coaster ride is quite stressful, it shows that there is no straight path to success. But the path is also lined with joyous moments, pats on the shoulder, and compliments from friends, colleagues, customers and strangers alike that really make a difference. In my experience, it is exactly this difference that makes all the hard work worthwhile and justifies all the pain that paves the road to success.

Let me close with what President Theodore Roosevelt said in his speech “The Man in the Arena” one hundred years ago for it has not lost any of its truth:

“There is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.”