Tim Ferriss created a great post about the emotional cycle that a majority (if not all) entrepreneurs go through as they create a company (I would argue that this applies to life in general, at least mine seems to at times). The psychology behind this makes so much sense, and we have both experienced this in past endeavors — Vector, other jobs, etc. The creator of this diagram and explanation is Cameron Herold, former COO of 1-800-GOT-JUNK. The following quote I took from Tim’s website, it is from Marc Andreessen:
“First and foremost, a start-up puts you on an emotional rollercoaster unlike anything you have ever experienced. You flip rapidly from day-to-day – one where you are euphorically convinced you are going to own the world, to a day in which doom seems only weeks away and you feel completely ruined, and back again. Over and over and over. And I’m talking about what happens to stable entrepreneurs. There is so much uncertainty and so much risk around practically everything you are doing. The level of stress that you’re under generally will magnify things incredible highs and unbelievable lows at whiplash speed and huge magnitude. Sound like fun?”
Here is a summary of the steps as seen in the diagram above. During each of these stages, it is important to realize you are in this stage and utilize your existing frame of mind to tackle appropriate tasks only.
* Stage 1: The first stage of the concept is called “Uninformed Optimism”. At this stage on a rollercoaster, just getting to the top of the rollercoaster, you experience feelings of an adrenalin rush, characterized by excitement and nervous energy.
* Stage 2: The second stage is called “Informed Pessimism”. As you ride over the top of the curve you now have a bit more information. Feelings of fear, nervousness, and frustration begin to set in. Perhaps you even want to get off of it.
* Stage 3 – The third stage is called “Crisis of Meaning”. You’re past scared. You feel despair. It’s as if you’re standing on the edge of a cliff ready to jump, and you begin to think “Today the rollercoaster’s going off the bottom of the track for the very first time.” You feel helpless and you’re both terrified and frozen.
* At this point, you face a critical juncture. You can come off the bottom of the curve and crash and burn, which is when your business goes bankrupt, you lose your marriage, you start drinking, or you end up in a doctor’s office because of stress. Or you can come around the corner because you’re getting support at “Crisis of Meaning” and you can enter an upward swing call “Informed Optimism”.
* Stage 4 – Informed Optimism. You’re calm. You’re informed. You might even say you are cautiously optimistic.
At the end of this cycle, look for it to start back over…
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Sources:
http://www.fourhourworkweek.com/blog/2008/10/03/harnessing-entrepreneurial-manic-depression-making-the-rollercoaster-work-for-you/
http://www.backpocketcoo.com/
Another thing to keep in mind as we develop a business idea is that we will need to become “experts” in our field, or more accurately “perceived experts.” Tim Ferriss states that there is a big difference between being an expert and being perceived as one. I completely agree that the term “expert” is used way to frequently. The key here is that anyone who is perceived as an expert is called an expert by the media. If you know more than most people about a particular niche, you can be recognized as an expert.
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