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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.
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.
And my hike was going to be one you could do in as little as four hours a week.
I liked the sound of that.
Two and half years and several iterations of my business later, I am pleased, but mainly relieved, to say I’m fully autonomous.
It did take more than fours a week. And it was not a straightforward or easy path, it wasn’t even nearly all ascent. Of course, it was never going to be.
There most certainly have been obstacles. And setbacks and surprises, too.
For a while, I was surprised at how much it took from me, the sheer depth of how hard it could be.
Worry, stress, anxiety. Relationships lost, damaged and fizzled out, inconsistent income, damaged credit, hormonal disruption, and more. Two years of pretty deafening discomfort took its toll, and at times, I felt like my pain threshold couldn’t take much more.
