Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Terry Tucker, Owner of Motivational Check LLC., located in Denver, CO, USA.

What's your business, and who are your customers?

The mission of Motivational Check LLC is to consistently enrich and improve lives through inspiring, diverse, and uplifting content. We accomplish our mission by providing a world-class personal development membership experience, books, speaking engagements, and podcast interviews.

Tell us about yourself

I have reinvented myself frequently over my professional career. After I graduated from college at The Citadel (where I played NCAA Division I basketball), I was employed in the Marketing Department at the corporate headquarters of Wendy's International in Dublin, Ohio. From there, I worked in hospital administration for Riverside Methodist Hospital in Columbus, Ohio.

After getting married and moving to California, I became the Customer Service Manager for an academic publishing company in Santa Barbara. When our daughter was born, and we moved to Cincinnati, Ohio, I became a police officer with the Cincinnati Police Department, where I was a SWAT Hostage Negotiator.

In 2004, I obtained my Master's degree from Boston University. Following a family relocation to Texas, I started a school security consulting business and coached high school girls basketball. Each time I took on a new job, I had to develop new skills and face different challenges. There was always a significant learning curve with every new position. But my greatest challenge began in 2012 when I was diagnosed with a rare form of melanoma that has seen the amputation of my foot in 2018 and my leg in 2020.

Making a positive difference in the lives of the people I interact with every day continues to motivate and inspire me.

What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?

My biggest accomplishment has been the writing and publication of my book, Sustainable Excellence, Ten Principles To Leading Your Uncommon and Extraordinary Life. The book is available anywhere you can get a book online, and I enjoy hearing from readers about how much the book has positively impacted their lives.

What's one of the hardest things that come with being a business owner?

Since I am currently being treated for cancer, the hardest things for me are balancing my treatments with running and growing a business and spending time with my family and friends.

What are the top tips you'd give to anyone looking to start, run and grow a business today?

  1. Control Your Mind or Your Mind Will Control You - It is estimated that on any given day, we have 60,000 to 70,000 thoughts that pass through our minds, but your mind can only hold one thought at a time. Why would you want to make that a negative thought? Be careful what you think because we all become what we think.
  2. Embrace the Pain and Difficulty We All Experience In Life and Use That Pain and Difficulty To Become a Stronger and More Determined Individual - Our brains are hard-wired to avoid pain and discomfort and to seek pleasure. To the brain, the status quo is comfortable and familiar and should be left alone. The problem with that is the only way we are going to grow is to step outside our comfort zones and do the things we find uncomfortable. Instead of running from pain, flip it inside and burn it as fuel to make you more resilient.
  3. As Long As You Don't Quit, You Can Never Be Defeated - Some day, our pain is going to end, but if we quit, if we give up, if we give in to the pain, then the pain will always be a part of our life.

Is there anything else you'd like to share?

Since I live in Colorado, storms brew in the West and move towards the East. Cows can sense when a storm is coming and will try to run East to get away from it. Without knowing any better, the cow continues to try to outrun the storm. But instead of outrunning it, they run with the storm, maximizing the amount of pain, time, and frustration they experience.

Buffalo, on the other hand, runs at the storm, and by running at the storm, they run straight through it, minimizing the amount of pain, time, and frustration they experience from the storm. Be the buffalo, not the cow.

Where can people find you and your business?

Website: https://www.motivationalcheck.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/motivationalcheck
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sustainableexcellenceauthor/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/terrytucker2012
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/terry-tucker-9b5605179/

If you like what you've read here and have your own story as a solo or small business entrepreneur that you'd like to share, then please answer these interview questions. We'd love to feature your journey on these pages.

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