Hazen Christensen

I have noticed something very common among my entrepreneur friends: we often feel like the odd man out (Or odd women out, for our lady readers).

Entrepreneurs often have a hard time hanging with their old friends and they feel like they are out of place. We are different. We see the world through a completely different set of lenses than most people. We have different experiences, problems and struggles. We are constantly thinking about different things on top of what others think about. We don’t get to leave it behind or come back next Monday like most people. The books we read and television we watch, to the daily activities we partake in and our lifestyles have all completely changed so dramatically that common ground has been lost. You can’t talk about the things that are the most important to you such as your daily struggles with customers, your victories and experiences. It’s not that you feel superior to your old friends or anything, or that what your friends have to say isn’t valid, it’s just that you have become this new person inside. It’s hard to connect with them in this huge aspect of your life. Your lives are completely different now. This often leads to feelings of becoming the odd man out in your old circles. You have this massive side of you that you feel you can’t share with anyone you care about because they don’t understand or can’t relate to you.

I remember trying to talk about business life with my friends and family. They would just blank stare at me like I was from another planet. They were very important to me, but I felt this huge sense of isolation among them. Their lives were so completely different from my own, it was like being in a crowded room and still feeling lonely.

We entrepreneurs are the odd men out. We are different and are no longer normal to our old friends. It’s like we are from a new world. The problem there is that we have lost our common ground. Our connection has changed because of this new side of us. I have found the secret that will help us manage this: Surround yourself with like minded business owners and professionals that want you to succeed and encourage them to do so as well. Meet with them frequently. If you do this you will gain a new network of individuals that you can celebrate success with and face similar challenges together. You will also gain a vault of experienced information that you can build and profit from. You will be amazed at the differences in your conversations and how fulfilling it can be to talk with someone who is in the same boat as you are. You need that time to share your victories, experiences, trials. Please do not get me wrong here, I’m not saying that you should abandon your family or your friends at all. They are still your family and friends, only you have changed. You need this new network of like minded people to connect with your business side of life that your friends and family cannot fill.

Build a network of folks who are just like you. This way you can bridge this inner gap inside yourself and share your business side with people of like mind. You will be amazed at how refreshing it is when you don’t have to fight or convince them… it’s nice when people just “GET IT.”