Okay I’m sure you’re chuckling to yourself just a little right now, but stay with me here, because this is a HARDCORE LESSON in ENTREPRENEURSHIP!

Here is the quote from the movie “Finding Nemo” that I often find myself reciting internally when I feel like I’m coming to a dead end on something, but I’m in a situation where a dead end is not an option!

The truth is, when you’re an entrepreneur, you DON’T HAVE the option to NOT KEEP SWIMMING!

Not only is your vision and business at stake if you don’t find a solution to whatever problems you may be facing, there are also countless other people who are relying on you to FIGURE IT OUT and MAKE IT WORK!  As the entrepreneur, you are the HEAD LEADER (or at least you SHOULD be…), and although you may hire other STRONG LEADERS under you to manage and help lead your vision and organization and people, at the end of the day, YOU are the TOP LEADER, and if someone else can’t figure something out, then YOU HAVE TO.

Because what is the other option?  If NO ONE figures out a solution, then the white flag is basically waving.  And let’s face it, if you’ve been an entrepreneur from the start like I have, then that’s just not an option.

“JUST KEEP SWIMMING” is a reminder to myself that business and entrepreneurship IS about who is “FIRST” a lot of the time, but it’s also about ENDURANCE.

Endurance – that’s what continuing to swim is all about.  Most importantly, continuing to swim when things are not going well.  Maybe it’s when the prospective client has chosen another company.  Or when your server crashes and you can’t get to your email for 8 hours.  Or when your operating income at the end of a year is the color of a tomato instead of a coffee bean.  All of that stress is overwhelming, to say the least, and most times we would like to say “Forget this!” and just hop on a plane to Aruba.

But “JUST KEEP SWIMMING” reminds me to RIDE THE TIDES when waters get rough.  And I’ve personally found it amazing just to see what a difference changing my perspective can make.  So give it a try and see what this simple mantra can do for you too!