If You Love What You Do, It Won't Feel Like Work
If you’ve been following along to my business endeavors recently, you may think that things are moving a mile a minute for me. That’s because they are. Busy is a good thing.
The last 7 months of my life have been something I have strived for my entire professional career. I always wanted to have the independence to do what I thought was right, especially as it relates to my business & my professional choices. Currently, I am essentially working in three full-time roles:
Founder & Chief Strategist of Andrew Exler Consulting
Director of Content & Strategy at Lost Tribe Esports
Founder & CEO of My New Summer
When I left what many consider the “corporate world” last October, I was scared. I had the chance to take over a successful family business but my heart told me I belonged elsewhere. I surely had the confidence to catapult myself into the world of self-employment as I ventured to launch my own business. I knew what I was in for, but I never expected things to pan out the way they have in the first year. Don’t mistake these words to make you think I have been successful. I have a LONG road to go, but this has been a motivating start.
I was having a conversation with my mentor who is like a big brother, Tom, last week as we usually check-in with each other every couple of days. Tom has always been someone who inspired my career as he followed a very similar path to success and I think we have similar mindsets. As we were talking last week I mentioned how I seem to be working nonstop. I haven’t taken a day off since October 2019, yet I’m not exhausted. I don’t feel like I am in need of a vacation. I have found a routine, even on weekends, where I spend my mornings drinking coffee and following-up to any emails & responsibilities that I should get done each day.
When I talk to friends of mine, many have started joking that I must be locked in my house since I seem to be “on” 24/7. As I continued to talk to Tom it dawned on me. I realized that I am substantially happier working 70-90 hours/week for myself than to only have to work 40 for someone else. It’s cliche, but it couldn’t be more true. If you TRULY love what you do, it won’t feel like work. I have recently found that I am becoming a resource for others who are inspired by the leap of faith that I took as many people message me requesting to chat and learn more. I appreciate when I find someone wanting to learn about my path because I remember being that person 10 years ago. I would always find successful people and reach out, simply wanting to talk to them to learn how they got where they were and why. It’s been a nice taste of things coming full-circle to see others valuing my journey. As I always promise, please reach out to me if you ever want to chat. I’ll always respond.
The most common question I am asked is, “how do you balance so many different roles and responsibilities?”. Truthfully, I love what I am doing so much that I make the time. It’s that simple. I am up early in the morning before sunrise. I still get a daily workout in. I still get a good night of sleep. The rest? I make it work. I am very organized when it comes to scheduling my day to make sure every minute is tracked. I have found a solution that works for me. Everyone is different, that’s a fact. However if you want to be successful, you’ll find the time to make it happen.
I took my passion for social media that started as a “side-hustle” and made it my business at Andrew Exler Consulting. In launching this venture with myself, I found my way to Lost Tribe Esports where I am the Director of Content & Strategy and have had my network opened up to many amazing esports professionals in what is possibly the hottest industry on the planet right now. Through my work with Lost Tribe Esports, I found a way to tie my partnership conversations back into a world that shaped me as a child, summer camp. As we partnered with many summer camps with Lost Tribe Esports for virtual opportunities due to the pandemic, I began to realize the thousands of seasonal camp staff who lost their jobs for summer 2020. This realization then trickled into the world of internships, travel programs and more. My New Summer was born and we now have 7 amazing members on our staff and have already placed 13 talented individuals into jobs or internships in our first 40 days of operations.
Whether it’s a great or terrible experience, the key is learn something along the way. My career started in NHL ticket sales, it moved into the nonprofit space in youth development before becoming an accountant. It took me three very different industries to learn what I really wanted in life. I learned great things along the way that shaped me to where I am now. I have a long-road ahead, but man does it feel great to see how far I’ve come.
Want to talk? Send me a message!
- Andrew