Regular Blogenberg visitors (and I remain grateful and mystified by the number!) know that I will punch any entrepreneur who says, “Now that I own my own business I can take a spinning class in the middle of the day!” First I puke. Then I punch ‘em.

I just filled out a survey for entrepreneurs. I don’t usually waste my time with such, but it was an interesting research project. It reminded me that the only real entrepreneurial “work out” routine is “risk, and focus, and sacrifice, and risk, and…”

If risk doesn’t get your blood rushing — in a good way — don’t start your own business. As your business matures, risk never goes away. It just matures right along with your business. When I started, the risk was: Can I pay my mortgage this month? Will my retirement plan involve being a greeter at Wal-Mart? Today, every strategic step risks this living entity I’ve built, with walls, computers and, yes, people that I care about.

You better be able to focus on no more than two things: business and one other. I would hope, for your sake, that the one other is family. It is for me. Whatever it is, I don’t believe you can build a business and focus on more than one other thing. Just doing two is exhausting.

Finally and complementary to focus, you better be able to drop some of things you love for the sake of loving your business. I love golf. I haven’t picked up a club in at least six years. That’s waiting for retirement.

Because when you’re in business, it’s “Risk, and, Focus, and, Sacrifice, and…” Then, in retirement you can shove your golf club in the spokes of somebody’s spinning cycle.

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