“This guy loves being a CEO!”

“I was reading your blog recently and I thought, this guy loves being a CEO!”

That’s what a friend said recently as we had dinner.

I never thought about it like that, but indeed, I do love being a CEO. And I’m grateful for the chance to do it.

I have realized over time that not everyone enjoys the job.

Some don’t enjoy the stress and pressure of it.

I don’t mind it, perhaps because I started being a CEO at a young age (22) and have known nothing else.

Some are creators and gifted at a trade other than “leading.”

I don’t have that problem as I never had a chance to get really good at anything. Again, probably because I was immediately a CEO.

Some people I talk to really dislike the idea of having employees.

Not because they dislike people, but rather all the things that come with managing people – emotions, disagreements, the need for coaching and motivation, dealing with benefits, etc. For the most part, I enjoy the people part of the job, and I delegate the parts that I don’t enjoy. But I LOVE developing a high-functioning team of people. I think I love that the most.

So yes, I have to admit, I do love being a CEO, and I hope that I continue to get the chance for a long time :)

PS – as an experiment, I searched “CEO photos” on Google and it came up with the images above. Kinda shines a light on our leadership diversity problems as a society, doesn’t it?