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I want to be honest with you:
These past few days have been rough for me.
Not because anything bad has happened – thank God. But I’ve just been feeling slightly… down.
My mind is a whirlwind of negative thoughts and self-doubts.
I don’t know exactly why that is.
Maybe it’s the shitty weather … maybe it’s that I’ve gotta catch up on some important things I haven’t gotten around to doing … or maybe it’s something completely different.
But this got me thinking.
When you look around on the interwebs – especially on Twitter – you’re constantly bombarded with people (supposedly) doing better than you.
“I hit my first $30k month”
“I gained 700 followers this month”
“Just landed a 5-figure client deal”
And while I’m happy for these people (I genuinely want everyone to win) … I know that this is usually a fake facade.
In reality…
These exact people are plagued by crippling self-doubt and paranoia – just like the rest of us (perhaps even more so).
They’re pretending to live the “fairy tale life,” when in reality, they’re completely and utterly confused.
How do I know?
Well, I’ve spoken to a lot of these “winners” and they all report the same: Winning doesn’t change your internal states … it puts them on steroids.
So if you’ve achieved that win by whipping yourself as if you were some pitiful slave … you’re gonna treat yourself even worse once you’re “successful”!
This is just one more reason why you shouldn’t compare yourself to others.
You never know how they FEEL internally.
For example:
Elon Musk – one of the richest men in the world – is “living the dream.” He’s launching rockets into space, could buy virtually anything, doing weird robot dances on stage, and being cheered on by millions.
Yet, he’s one of the least enviable people I know.
I would HATE to live his life.
The constant stress
His hyper-active whirlwind of a mind
The responsibility over 1000s of employees
No thanks. I’d rather live my own life.
What looks great on the surface, isn’t always the thing you really want.
Some cautionary advice:
There are a lot of “fake” creators out there, pretending to “live the dream” and have everything figured out.
Don’t trust them.
If ANYONE tries to tell you they’ve got their life together, 100% in control… they’re either trying to sell you something, or completely delusional.
Let’s face the unfortunate reality of entrepreneurship:
You have ZERO certainty.
You don’t know SHIT about whether this decision was the right one. You have no guarantee that this is going to work. You don’t know if all these hours you’re putting in will eventually pay off.
They might not.
Any reasonable human being would have self-doubts in your situation. It’s a sign that your brain is working as it should.
So whenever you’re second-guessing yourself…
Remind yourself that it’s normal. Any successful person ever has had to face these thoughts.
And especially if you’re an intelligent person (which most of you reading this are) … you’re even more prone to these nagging fuckers.
It’s normal and it’s gonna be okay.
Sure, you have no guarantee that this effort will pay off.
But you can SKYROCKET your chances of success to the point where it’s highly unlikely that you WON’T be successful.
How?
By consistently showing up (even if it’s just tiny actions), constantly learning about your craft, stepping outside your comfort zone, and putting yourself out there.
And most importantly…
By doing this for YEARS on end – even when results aren’t immediately apparent.
You have to be somewhat insane to run a business. That’s the truth.
These are some ideas that help me whenever I’m feeling down and not seeing the progress I want.
This might’ve not been the best email for “authority purposes.” But honestly … fuck that.
I’m here to share my lessons & experiences.
And “feeling down” just happens to be an unavoidable part of the journey.
I refuse to be one of those “fairy tale/good boy” creators.
I’m here to tell you the fucking truth.
Talk soon,
Tim <3
P.S. Can you relate? What helps you in situations like this? Let me know by replying to this email.