

Harnessing Entrepreneurial Manic-Depression: Making the Rollercoaster Work for You - lennysan
http://www.fourhourworkweek.com/blog/2008/10/03/harnessing-entrepreneurial-manic-depression-making-the-rollercoaster-work-for-you/

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jyothi
absolutely brilliant stuff. Nicely summarized.

A first time entrepreneur is most definitely bound to go through. Stages -

1\. Up: Uninformed Optimism

2\. Down: Informed Pessimism

3\. Further Down: Crisis of meaning (Critical juncture)

4\. a) Crash: Crash & Burn

    
    
           OR 
    
        b) Rise up: Informed Optimism
    

Really useful tips on Capitalizing on All Emotional Phases (Activity Pairing)

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jyothi
The advice on capitalizing _Crisis of Meaning_ stage is helpful. But may be it
is time to quit for the better. How does one arrive at this decision.

I would like to quote seth godin " _[Strategic] Quitting is not same as
failing_ "

It the hardest time with poor morale, lost confidence, stress & burn -
mentally, physically and financially. You probably have even stopped believing
yourself, in your business and doubt your rationality. And this super critical
decision.

Here in India at least we have serious lack of people who can help you make
that judgement call - Quit or Stick.

Any structured way to arrive at this quit/stick decision at such stressful
times?

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jonmc12
This is a great article - it draws lines for decision making based on your
emotional state.

The curve should be modeled as a successive approximation function where the
optimism level is really a relative representation of being 'informed'.

The thing is, you can't make this curve correctly until after you've been down
the path and figured it out.. because otherwise you don't know what you don't
know. That's why this article makes a great point that you just have to ride
the rollercoaster of every cycle.

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lunaru
"The rollercoaster" is often the most overlooked part in this romanticism over
becoming an entrepreneur. The problem I find is that articles like this tend
to fly right over the heads of those who have not experienced the sensation
first hand.

