absolutely brilliant stuff. Nicely summarized.<p>A first time entrepreneur is most definitely bound to go through. Stages -<p>1. Up: Uninformed Optimism<p>2. Down: Informed Pessimism<p>3. Further Down: Crisis of meaning (Critical juncture)<p>4. a) Crash: Crash & Burn<p><pre><code> OR
b) Rise up: Informed Optimism
</code></pre>
Really useful tips on Capitalizing on All Emotional Phases (Activity Pairing)
The advice on capitalizing <i>Crisis of Meaning</i> stage is helpful. But may be it is time to quit for the better. How does one arrive at this decision.<p>I would like to quote seth godin "<i>[Strategic] Quitting is not same as failing</i>"<p>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.<p>Here in India at least we have serious lack of people who can help you make that judgement call - Quit or Stick.<p>Any structured way to arrive at this quit/stick decision at such stressful times?
This is a great article - it draws lines for decision making based on your emotional state.<p>The curve should be modeled as a successive approximation function where the optimism level is really a relative representation of being 'informed'.<p>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.
"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.