Why I’m Thankful this Year: 2024 Edition
David. Greenberg
Corporate Exec Turned Entrepreneur, Multi-Unit Franchise Owner | Franchise Consultant, Helping Others Do the Same | Own Six Prosperous Franchises | Leveraging Decades of Experience, Guiding People to Franchise Ownership
In November 2020, I wrote a post about why I was deeply thankful, despite the many difficulties we had all experienced that year: a devastating pandemic, physical and social isolation from our loved ones, and a teetering economy, to name a few. Most of those challenges have since abated, but life continues to feel categorically different for many of us, in part because the shocks of that year led (or even forced) millions of people into major life transitions .
For all those reasons and more, I wanted to revisit my 2020 post, both to encourage you and for my own benefit. Practicing gratitude is not just a feel-good habit: research shows that it’s good for both our physical and mental health. For that reason and others, I believe in looking for reasons to be grateful. So without further ado, here’s my post from 4 years ago, with the addition of some updates from me.
Even when life is difficult, I have people to love and who love me. I have a roof over my head and food to eat, and the ability to help those who don’t. And this year, despite all the challenges, I have something new to be grateful for: the opportunity to help others achieve personal, professional, and financial freedom. (Though it’s no longer new, I am still just as grateful for this opportunity.)
Why I Love My Job
When I was working as a corporate executive, my favorite part of my job was mentoring others. I loved to find employees who were excited, driven, and talented and then help them fulfill their full potential. My team’s successes always meant much more to me than anything I achieved on my own.
When I became a franchise owner, I got the opportunity to do the same, but on a larger scale. As my partners and I opened our six franchise locations, we enabled hundreds of salon professionals to achieve their dreams of business ownership. I continue to be a franchise owner, but now I also get to open that same door for my consulting clients.
Why I Love My Clients
I work primarily with corporate executives: people who’ve spent years, sometimes decades, at the same company. They’ve diligently worked their way up through the ranks to the proverbial corner office, but especially in this year’s economy, they’re realizing their jobs may not be as secure as they assumed. Or they’re tired of working long hours, only to have their efforts boost a stock price or feed the corporate bottom line. (This is still true, although today I’m seeing even more executives who have been laid off or who have proactively decided to leave the rat race, sometimes because of a shift in priorities that started in 2020.)
These people wouldn’t be where they are if they didn’t have tremendous energy. But they want that energy to start driving results for themselves and their families . They want to keep the profits they generate, make their own decisions about when and where they work, and say goodbye to caps on their earning potential. In short, they want freedom .
That’s why I’m grateful this November: because I get to open the door and point the way to freedom for those hard-working men and women. The way looks different for different people . For some, it means taking on a new full-time job as the owner-operator of a franchise. For others, it means executive-model franchising : building a multi-unit business, hiring a team to run it, and taking semi- or full retirement . Some are interested in service businesses , while others want to sell food or a product. But regardless of the exact circumstances, they all want to be their own bosses and control their destinies.
Why I Don’t Worry About Fear
I’ll admit: taking the first step on the journey is not always easy. As I’ve shared before, a lot of people are afraid of taking the leap from a “secure” paycheck to entrepreneurship . I’ll also admit: I felt some of that fear myself when I first started thinking about becoming a franchise owner. I don’t try to talk people out of fear. Fear is real, and it’s an understandable reaction to making a major life change. You don’t have to try to ignore it or get rid of it–you just need to harness it and overcome it . Think about what your fear teaches you, how it heightens your alertness and energy, and then think about how you can harness that energy to move toward your life goals.
As he led our nation through the Great Depression and a devastating world war, Franklin D. Roosevelt said, “Courage is not the absence of fear, but rather the assessment that something else is more important than fear.”
No matter what the rest of 2020 holds, I’m thankful. Thankful for my family and my home; thankful for my business partners, employees, and the incredible salon owners who energized and inspired me on my personal franchise journey; and thankful for a year of meeting so many courageous men and women who have made the assessment that achieving their dreams is more important than fear.
If you’re struggling with fear or uncertainty about what comes next in your career, I’d love to help. Book a call with me for a 20-minute chat about how I can provide personalized support as you take your next step.
This content originally appeared on https://empoweredfranchisee.com/ .