Rewind almost exactly seven years and I was laying in the pitch dark, on a thin pad on the floor of a cement room in rural Senegal. I had a mosquito net over me, but no sheets or blankets because I was sweating.

I checked my phone to see the time, hoping and praying it was almost morning so I could get up, splash some lukewarm water on my face, and just end the sleepless night, but it was only midnight. At least five more hours to go.

As if to torture myself, I opened the weather app on my phone to see how hot it was, and when I saw 100 degrees on that screen in the darkness, I cursed everything.

Why was I making myself so uncomfortable? Why wasn’t I home enjoying the summer with my husband in our air-conditioned home?

The next morning, after a few hours of sleep, I woke with a clear head and realized: The discomfort of 100 degrees was a direct path to impact and change.

I couldn’t go into these villages in Senegal to support primary school construction projects without the discomfort. I needed to push through the discomfort in order to bring about positive change in those children’s lives and create impact in my own life too.

When I founded the business five years ago and brainstormed names for my new company, 100 Degrees was the first thing that came to mind.

Why?

Because we help leaders push through their own discomfort around numbers to create greater impact and change in their lives and communities.

So next time you’re sweating through your monthly finance review, frustrated, hot, angry, and wondering why in the world you put yourself through this journey of leadership or entrepreneurship, think about 100 Degrees.

Your journey, even though it may be 100 degrees with no a/c, is the only one to impact and growth.

What’s been a “100 degrees moment” in your journey? Comment and share with me!