enjoy the fkn ride.

Happy Sunday!

I hope you’ve had a productive week doing whatever you’ve been doing. Lately, it’s been a busy season for me. I’ve recently been caught up in a lot of day-to-day work that never escapes me. I think I’ve been caught up a lot in the minutiae of things. This has led to quite a bit of being overwhelmed along with a sprinkle of procrastination from time to time. To combat this, I’ve been prioritizing my presence and peace

In this entrepreneurial journey, there will rarely be a clear finish line or result. 9 times out of 10, there will always be something you can stress about and it can slowly eat away at you. Even though I’ve signed up for this unpredictable journey, doesn’t mean I have to suffer. There is a key distinction between “pain” and “suffering”. Pain is inevitable in life, it’s a part of our DNA and makes us who we are. We learn from it and ultimately, grow the most out of it. But to the contrary, suffering is always a choice. We choose to suffer and be confined to the prisons of our minds. Ultimately, it’s up to us to break through the imaginary bars to free ourselves.

The practice of meditation has allowed me to slowly liberate myself from the constant stressors and suffering that entrepreneurship throws at me. The art of sitting in silence and not identifying with your thoughts is something so beautiful and profound. It’s been the most crucial habit that I’ve been prioritizing recently. It’s a practice that I want to improve and utilize at all times, not just in the busy season. Whether you feel stressed or not, once you get into meditating, you begin to see the world with a new lens. You start to notice and observe more things. You make better eye contact when conversing with others and people feel more heard. You’re more attuned to your thoughts and you’re operating at a much higher frequency.

As I mentioned earlier, these last few weeks have been quite hectic for me. Life has been testing my resiliency and perseverance. Ironically enough, today happens to be the 1-year-anniversary of launching IRL and opening up the online community. It’s been so crazy to see the movement take on many different life forms over the last 365 days. After reflecting today on all the ups and downs of this journey, I reminded myself of an analogy I heard once that hits home. It’s the analogy of the merry-go-round life vs. the roller coaster life. I’m sure you have a good idea of what each example metaphorically means.

The merry-go-round life is extremely predictable. One that is in a loop, just like a merry-go-round, playing the same music over and over.

The roller coaster life on the other hand is a life that is the opposite of predictable. It’s one filled with twists and turns. One second you’re going down, the next second you could be going backward for all you know.

Crazy enough, it just so happens to be the life that I signed up for. And if you’re reading this, then chances are you’re crazy like me. You’re on the same ride and we’re all buckled in, probably not getting off anytime soon.

Happy month of September. I hope this new month is filled with beautiful moments, peace, and big wins. This will be quite a hectic month for me as I’ll be all over the place, literally. I’ll be heading out to Rome for my first leg of a lot of traveling ahead of me. If you’ve been to Rome, feel free to hit me up with any recommendations. Cheers to the ride 😉 

PS: Still have 1-2 spots open for our Greece mastermind next month, DM me on IG @jaredsmall_ if you’re interested