Entrepreneurship should be enjoyable

We all come alive when we're doing something that we love, entrepreneurship is one of those where it should be enjoyable and the core thing you do is enjoyable but often the environment in which you're building is sometimes not enjoyable because you're constantly carrying a heavy load and weight of responsibility.

There is something almost magical about building.

When I’m creating something — writing, planning, shaping what MessyMiddle.org is becoming — I feel ALIVE. Even on the hard days. Even with no money. Even when the world feels heavy. When I’m building, I forget how tired I am. I forget how long it’s been since I’ve been out. I forget the bills piling up. Because building makes me happy.

It’s not just about the end result. It’s the act itself. It’s the spark of an idea. It’s seeing something that didn’t exist yesterday exist today. It’s saying “I made this” — and meaning it. That joy? That lightness? That is what entrepreneurship is SUPPOSED to feel like.

But here is the thing that NO ONE talks about enough:

The moment you hit the MessyMiddle — that stretch after the excitement fades, before the stability arrives — society tries to POP your happiness bubble.

🫧 THEY DON’T WANT YOU TO ENJOY THE JOURNEY

You’ll hear it constantly:

• “When are you going to get a proper job?”

• “When will this actually make money?”

• “Aren’t you tired of trying yet?”

• “You should be grateful for something steady.”

It’s as if people believe that if you’re enjoying what you’re doing, it can’t possibly be real work. As if suffering equals legitimacy. As if building something from nothing should be painful, miserable, and joyless — and if you smile while you do it, they must have missed something.

They look at you building something and think: “He’s too happy. He doesn’t know how hard life is.”

NO. I know EXACTLY how hard life is. That’s WHY I’m building.

I build because I know what depletion feels like. I know what instability feels like. I know what it feels like to be invisible and unsupported. And I STILL choose to build — because building is the one thing that brings me back to life.

🫧 ENTREPRENEURSHIP SHOULD BE ENJOYABLE

Here is the truth I am putting into the world:

Entrepreneurship was NEVER meant to be miserable.

It’s hard — absolutely. It’s scary, lonely, and unfair. But it should also be ENJOYABLE. It should feel like YOU. It should feel like something worth getting up for. It should feel like hope.

So many people in the MessyMiddle are quietly carrying this same conflict:

• They LOVE what they’re building

• But everyone around them keeps saying “it’s not working”

• So they start HIDING their joy

• They stop smiling

• They shrink their brilliance just to make others comfortable

Let me say this clearly: YOUR HAPPINESS IS NOT A BUBBLE TO BE POPPED.

Your joy is proof that you’re on the right path. Your excitement is fuel. Your belief in what you’re building — EVEN WHEN NO ONE ELSE DOES — is the bravest thing about you.

🫧 BUILDING IS OUR RIGHT — AND OUR JOY

Society will keep telling us to be sensible. To get in line. To stop dreaming. To stop being happy about things that aren’t yet finished.

I say: BUILD ANYWAY.

Be happy while you build. Be proud while you’re still in the middle. Be bright while things are still messy. Because building makes us happy — and that happiness is exactly what keeps us going when everything else falls apart.

They can try to pop the bubble all they like. But we know the truth:

Entrepreneurship shouldn’t break you. It should BRING YOU TO LIFE. And if we can’t enjoy the building… what was the point in starting at all?