Dear Dream Chaser w/ Rachel RaQuel Sitting With My Thoughts: The Team Eats First

I was sitting with my thoughts today.

No music playing. No television in the background. No notifications. Just me and the reality of what it means to build something from nothing.

People often call me a serial entrepreneur, and while that's true, it isn't because I have multiple projects, businesses, productions, events, and creative ventures. Plenty of people have multiple ideas.

What makes entrepreneurship different is sacrifice.

It's choosing responsibility when nobody would blame you for choosing yourself.

It's looking at your account and deciding the team gets paid before you do.

It's declining dinners, trips, and leisure activities because you're thinking three moves ahead. You're thinking about payroll, marketing, equipment, venues, transportation, and opportunities that haven't even presented themselves yet.

People see the event.

They see the sold-out room.

They see the pictures.

They see the applause.

They see the performance.

What they don't see is the entrepreneur quietly doing math in their head while everyone else is enjoying the moment.

What they don't see is the entrepreneur deciding whether to buy something they want or reserve those funds because a team member may need support next week.

Leadership is a strange thing.

The higher you climb, the more people assume you're benefiting from the success. Sometimes that's true. But sometimes you're the person making the largest sacrifices so everyone else can have an opportunity.

I've learned that building a dream isn't about standing at the front of the stage.

It's about creating enough room on the stage for other people to shine too.

There is no Rachel RaQuel without musicians.

No productions without actors.

No events without volunteers.

No successful venture without people who believe enough in the vision to help carry it.

That's why I think entrepreneurs view money differently than most people.

Money becomes less about what it can buy for us and more about what it can build for everyone connected to the mission.

The truth is, there have been moments when I've wanted to say yes to myself more often.

Yes to rest.

Yes to vacations.

Yes to buying something simply because I wanted it.

But I've also learned that seasons exist for a reason.

Some seasons are for harvesting.

Some seasons are for planting.

And planting seasons rarely look glamorous.

As I sat with my thoughts today, I realized something:

The reason I continue sacrificing isn't because I enjoy sacrifice.

It's because I believe in the people attached to the vision.

I believe that when one of us wins, all of us should have the opportunity to win.

There may be a "me" in the story.

But there is no dream without the team.

And if I have to choose, the team eats first.

Until next time...

Just sitting with my thoughts.