Business icons, superstar professional athletes, billionaires — it doesn’t matter how rich or how accomplished — I’ve had them all tell me the same thing…
There are moments when you feel the world is too much. Days and even weeks when you want to (or perhaps do) pull up the covers and half-sleep in bed until nightfall, avoiding a feeling of hopelessness that seems insurmountable. Long-awaited deals fall through without warning, haters attack you without reason or fact, circumstances turn good decisions into awful realities — sometimes it just feels like the deck is stacked against you and there is nothing you can do about it.
I’ve felt the same on more than a few occasions, and more are coming.
Entrepreneurs in particular seem prone to feeling on top of the world one minute, only to feel crushed by it the next.
To this breed, I assure you all: in our species, it’s normal.
It’s an integral part of building anything remarkable, whether a business, a relationship, or a life. Expanding your sphere of comfort and abilities comes with a cost: repeated self-doubt.
I thank my mother for forwarding me the above video to put things in perspective. In your moments of self-doubt, I encourage you to watch it and meditate on all of the things you’ve done that you once considering impossible. The odds you’ve overcome, the critics you’ve proven wrong, and the small defeats that — through making you stronger and smarter — made huge victories possible later.
Get back up. Bigger and better things are waiting for you.
Related and suggested reading:
Harnessing Entrepreneurial Manic-Depression: Making the Rollercoaster Work for You
Depression: How You Label Determines How You Feel
The Tim Ferriss Show is one of the most popular podcasts in the world with more than one billion downloads. It has been selected for "Best of Apple Podcasts" three times, it is often the #1 interview podcast across all of Apple Podcasts, and it's been ranked #1 out of 400,000+ podcasts on many occasions. To listen to any of the past episodes for free, check out this page.
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I’m with you Tim 🙂
Wow! Thanks Tim!
Damn I always cry on that one!
How inspiring!! Thank you!
Shoot, that was a remarkable message. Thank you (and thanks to your mother) for sharing.
…And he has a gorgeous wife and kids now! Life can be tough sometimes and we all have our challenges. Nick is an amazing leader and proves that we can overcome. Thanks for sharing.
Just wanted to say that is Tim! Since listening to you and jocko podcast I feel like anything possible and it’s always comforting to know that the people you admire have similar feelings that you have yourself. And for that just wanted to say that is again!!
love it