If you love what you do, then you’ll never work a day in your life. WAAAAY easier said than done. At 42 I’m fortunate enough for this statement is true for me. When I was just starting out, I was definitely doing what I loved, which was running my own company, but it was not paying the bills. Making ends meet was a struggle. A lot of people in my day to day life now, never saw that struggle.
Ages 23-27: Eviction notices, bill collectors, late/missed rent payments, destroyed my credit. Life was hard. The silver lining was meeting my wife Jen at Viking. I loved what I did.
Ages 28-29: Worked like a dog to pay my bills and get out of debt, but failed at that. Couldn’t catch a break in business. Was supported by my wife. We had nothing. I still loved what I did.
Age 30: Got married, bought Viking with Zach, became a dad, couldn’t buy a house because my credit was shot. Went to the doctor because of the stress of life. Despite this, I loved what I did and getting another job was NOT an option.
Ages 31-32: Rebuilt my credit, my wife and I paid off my debt from my 20s, had child number 2, and we miraculously bought a house I didn’t think we could afford. I loved what I did and that was important to me.
Ages 33-36: We built the Viking Activity Center, baby 3 was born, closed MyBike which drained/ruined me financially. Now I was no longer focused on two companies, just one. I was still able to do what I loved.
Ages 37-39: Was able to focus solely on Viking. Viking saw exponential growth with banner year after banner year. Opportunities were presenting themselves. The family was healthy and happy, work was great, doing what I love was finally working. Near perfect credit and debt free. All this while doing what I loved. It felt great.
40-42: Stuck with doing what I love through a global pandemic. Got through it and thrived. It feels awesome, but it was not easy. Not by a country mile.
LeRoy J. Watkins III 