So…that was scary, right? The massive yo-yo of the markets?

I mean, it’s not over yet, but for a while, it felt like a true free-fall, and for much longer than I was comfortable with.

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Just a few weeks ago, I wrote about focusing on what wasn’t changing amid all the turmoil.

But still, this past week it sorta felt like everything was about to change.

And that’s when that pesky self-doubt found me, asking:

“Could this plunge actually take me out?”

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Rewind — When I first went out on my own back in 2022, I had some natural nerves about bypassing the steady paycheck model for something much less predictable income-wise.

What helped me shrug off a lot of those nerves was taking a look at “the number” — you know the one.

The balance that ticks down when your corporate direct deposits stop.

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I took that number and divided it by my barebones monthly expenses, and immediately felt a bit of relief.

Turns out, I had a couple years of runway.

To some that may seem like skating on thin ice.

To others that may seem luxe or cushy.

Whatever your runway number, I found it helpful to reframe that it’s not a countdown timer for your business...

Or an expiration date that you circle on the calendar and start packing up your metaphorical boxes in dread as it draws near...

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Instead, your [xx] months of runway are like a cat’s nine lives.

Something you’ve built up to cash-in when you hit a shitty month.

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Let’s define what would make a ‘shitty month’:

It means everything went poorly.

As in, every proposal declined.

Every sales call a disaster.

Every coffee chat a bust.

Every LinkedIn post a dud.

Ok, fine. If all of that happens, cash in one of your “lives”, wipe the scoreboard and let’s try again.

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But odds are you won’t have to do that again next month.

Much less 3, 6, or 9 times in a row.

Why?

Because some of those posts do perform well.

Some of those coffee chats do go somewhere.

Some of those proposals do convert.

And the ones that don’t, teach you what to do differently so that they do.

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Back to last week — here’s the stress:

I still think about my runway, and that number of lives was dropping. Fast.

Every day, I was losing the cushion to make an entire month’s worth of mistakes.

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Again, I had to remind myself…

(And it was really hard to do in the moment…)

That even if you lose half of your nine lives, or more…

Everything else still has to go wrong for you to lose it all.

All the experience you’ve gained has to disappear.

All the reputation you’ve built needs to vanish.

All the momentum you’ve built needs to dissolve.

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What’s more likely — all of that disappearing at once?

Or having faith that you’ll figure something out?

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My wise friend, Clay, told me once that the antidotes to anxiety are time and practice.

Time to let things play out then react with a cool head.

And practice, as in recognizing that you’ve been through this before and/or will go through it again.

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I’ll chalk this week up as practice for the next drop of the yo-yo.

And will do my best to remind myself of the benefits of time.

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Hang in there, everyone.

You really are doing great.

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💡

-Wes