Riding the Waves of Change: Why It ‘Must’ Get Harder Before It Gets Easier

Back in 2016 I had my first dabble in entrepreneurship — I started my own business. I taught yoga classes in my village, alongside my main hustle — a shiny corporate job in the environmental sector.

Even in those days, I knew I was pretty fatally allergic to timesheets, team meetings and management structures.

But while I had the desire to be my own boss, I wasn’t sure if I had what it really took to make that jump — grit.

Photo by Torbjorn Sandbakk on Unsplash

So back in my pre-grit days, a side hustle suited me fine, and yoga is a pretty nice thing to have as a side hustle. I could have kept that going — and, in hindsight, that might have been a smoother ramp in.

But as it turned out, I didn’t have the patience for a smooth ramp in. I wanted it all. I wanted to jump right in and fast forward that change, like, yesterday.

The bright lights of full-on entrepreneurship were dazzling, and Tim Ferriss had convinced me it was, if not a walk in the park, then perhaps a rather satisfying hike.

Not a hike like the Himalayas — vast, inaccessible and impossible for most.

Maybe more like the Pacific Crest Trail, or the West Highland Way in Scotland. Challenging — but achievable, with the appropriate training, equipment, and the right mindset.