It’s easy to get frustrated at work.

I often get so frustrated that I want to throw my computer through the window.

A little perspective goes a long way in moments like these.

I try to remind myself how incredibly lucky we are to do this. Make money on the internet. In the air conditioned office, away from the heat.

We use our knowledge, our networks, and our words to build wonderful lives for ourselves and for our families.

Sure, it is hard work. In the same way that building anything of value is hard to do.

Sales is hard. Building products that people actually use is hard. Managing people is hard. It's all hard and there are many versions of hard.

But let's be honest, there are many more difficult ways to earn a living than by working in SaaS.

This past weekend I spent a day removing an iron fence from one property and delivering it at another property.

This wasn't for sport. I am in the middle of renovating a house and I sold our old iron fence to another person across town.

I tried unsuccessfully to find someone who had the necessary equipment to move the fence, so I had to figure it out myself.

I found someone to help me and we went to work. The fence panels were heavy. Strain your muscles and make your back hurt, heavy. We realized we needed more people to get the fence and posts up on the trailer. So we recruited 2 more friends to help for the day.

It was hot, even for Louisiana in September. We were sweating through our shirts within 30 minutes of loading up the fence.

As I took mini-breaks to recover from each heavy haul, I wondered whether this is what people mean when they say "hard labor".

I wanted to quit so many times. I kept thinking to myself “I wish I had paid someone to do this for me”.

But I had sold the fence, I got these people to come help me move the fence, I had started the job, so I needed to finish the job.

I thought we would be done within a couple of hours. The job took us about 6 hours from start to finish.

No matter what project I take on, it always seems to take longer than expected and requires more effort than I expected.

When we finally finished, I sat in a state somewhere between exhaustion and euphoria. My energy was spent. My muscles ached as if I had just finished playing in a tackle football game with no shoulder pads. My hands were banged up and bleeding from getting smashed in the heavy wrought iron.

The only thing I could think about was drinking the biggest bottle of cold water I could find, jumping in a pool, and trying not to move my body any more than necessary.

As my adrenaline wore off and my body temperature came back to normal, I felt a sense of accomplishment that I haven't felt in a while.

The feeling a job well done.

It's a fleeting feeling for founders and sales leaders because so much of our world requires us to make decisions and work on objectives that take weeks or even months to realize value.

There's something about starting a job and finishing a job in the same day that is therapeutic.

That's why I recommend working with your hands. It gives you perspective. It helps you realize how lucky we are to do what we do.

We push keys and make words. We write code and ship products. We send emails. We record and share videos. We design marketing material. We make phone calls to customers.

These things aren't easy, but they are absolutely a luxury compared to the many alternative ways to make a living.

So find a way to do something with your hands.

You don't have to rush out and move an iron fence like I did.

Pick something that you are interested in:
- make ramen from scratch
- build a birdhouse
- plant a garden
- cut your grass
- re-paint your living room

Pick something that you can start and complete in the same day. Pick something challenging.

You might want to quit in the middle of it, and that's OK. Keep pushing through and finish the work.

Working with your hands helps you appreciate good fortune you have to do what you do for a living.