“I thought you DIED,” she lamented as she stomped into my hotel room. Confused, I looked at the clock and wiped leftover mascara from my lashes. It was 7:47am on Saturday morning. 

I would’ve thought I died, too. 

Whenever we travel for business trips, I’m up before sunrise, workout complete and coffee in hand.  No one was more surprised to see I slept past 4:30am than ME.

I—hand-to-heaven—never thought I could sleep past sunrise.

I looked out the hotel door I still held open to gaze at the hills of rolling vineyards of Napa Valley then let it shut.  No, really, Amy said, I was going to call the cops.

I turned to her and let my raspy morning voice utter, “I have a business hangover.”

Picture yourself reading an entire encyclopedia while sprinting on a treadmill in stilettos trying to avoid Mario Kart banana peels thrown in your path while calculating the amount of gasoline required to get to the moon.  THAT is what a business hangover feels like.

Joining two brilliant entrepreneurs, Amy Porterfield and Britt Seva, in Napa, California, we spent three days brainstorming ideas, doing business critiques, and creating fresh strategies.  While it sounds pleasant, it mostly felt like my brain was trying to get through an American Ninja Warrior obstacle course.

With a glass of wine….or two. WHO WERE WE KIDDING WE WERE IN NAPA?!?

I’ve been committed to sharing my messy-middle business journey with you, so here’s my top 3 takeaways from last weekend so–hopefully–it feels like you were there with us in spirit.

1. Ask.  Do.  Think.  I used to ask a question, think about the responses I received, then decide what to do.  But when you’re around smart people you trust, DOING is the most important thing.  It’s only when I do that I can think about my actions, and results.

2. If you’re the smartest person in the room, find a new room.  It’s not easy hearing everything you need to do to get better, or being surrounded by people who are wiser, richer, and/or more successful than you but I learn the MOST when I’m the dumbest person in the room and I’m willing to ask questions that betray my inexperience.  It’s not easy, but it’s worth it.

3. You’re responsible for the effort, not the outcome.  It’s agonizing to not get the results I wanted, or hit the goals I projected, but that’s normal.  It’s easy to think that I’m the only person who has a feature/project/promotion go sideways, but the strongest entrepreneurs understand it’s all part of the process.  So get up, and keep moving forward.

Can you see how these lessons contributed to my business hangover?!  Regardless of how I felt, what I know is that I’m truly thankful.  During this holiday week of Thanksgiving, I’m thankful for friends, family, and you.

Thank you for allowing me to share my journey, thank you for your replies, thank you for your messages on social media, thank you for allowing me to share in your journey as well.

In gratitude,

j*