133- When Entrepreneurs may pass on opportunities

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In this episode of The Struggling Biz, we discuss the theme delivered by Evo Terra in his podcast show, Podcast Pontifications, about avoiding burnout by passing up opportunities that may seem very attractive for us, the entrepreneurs.

Friends and colleagues may sometimes try to be helpful and they tell us about great opportunities for the podcaster and entrepreneur, including some leads and other situations or events. In fact, we ourselves have been attracted to attend many events because it looked like fun — or perhaps a good business opportunity if you wanted to get a booth in the exhibit hall of a podcast conference and either get leads, expand your customer base or sell your offerings.

However, the eventual problem that can result if this attraction grows to include too many opportunities may be burnout.

Evo himself states his attraction, but he also needs to be more rational about the situation: “Don’t get me wrong: I love it when people bring new opportunities to me. …I’ve become quite good at saying “no” and passing up opportunities that either aren’t a good fit for me at the moment or are cool-sounding things that are likely to throw me and my mental health out of balance.”

As a professional podcaster, Evo develops the key idea that setting boundaries about opportunities may be hard for many podcasters, especially the new and aspiring entrepreneurs. This is true when serendipity occurs for you and the opportunities simply “drop on your lap.” In fact, there is a conflict because of your desire to take the opportunity: “Passing that up seems rather foolish, regardless of what’s already on your plate, right?”

However, this is where reasoning comes in, because you have to remind yourself of Evo’s nugget of wisdom: “Opportunity will knock again. Sometimes, it’s the very same opportunity, or one quite similar. When it shows up again, perhaps you’ll be in a better place emotionally and mentally to accommodate….Occasionally, you may realize that passing up on an opportunity is as much of an opportunity as the opportunity itself. Only this time, it’s an opportunity to refocus on your own mental health. Doing so just might keep you in the podcasting game for that much longer.”

And Evo ends his delivery by stating that your mental health is a key factor in being strong and having longevity in your business — and that passing up on some opportunities may be the best road to your mental health in podcasting at the moment. As he states: “Your mental health is just that: your health. Treat it as such.”

I can definitely attest to Evo’s suggestion and his words of wisdom, for I did experience the beginnings of burnout at a time 10 years ago when, as a professional podcaster, I had 16 podcast shows all at the same time — and I attended and spoke at every podcast event that was available (even if I had to travel and fund every opportunity myself).

For me, the road to longevity is to keep your mental health and avoid saying “YES” to every attractive opportunity. By saying “NO” at the present, you may experience at times the serendipity of getting the right opportunity at the right time when you are strong in your own entrepreneurial mental health.

Thank you for your attention.