Developing resilience as an entrepreneur

Hey there, fabulous folks!

This week, I'm coming to you from the caffeine mothership, a.k.a Starbucks. I know, I know, I almost always avoid the chains and hit the local spots, but today we're settling for burnt coffee. It's just closer to the homestead. I'm on my second cup of rocket fuel, desperately trying to jumpstart my brain after a whopping 2-hour sleep marathon. Please accept my delayed newsletter this time around – blame it on our adorable new sleep-depriver... I mean, newborn. 🍼😴

Anyway, onward to today's issue...

In the last issue, we talked about why resilience is one of the most overlooked entrepreneurial superpowers.

In case you missed it, you can give it a read here.

I briefly mentioned resilience is actually a trainable skill. Today, we'll explore how we can enhance this skill to not only improve as entrepreneurs but also enhance our lives as a whole.

I'd like to introduce you to one of my favorite techniques to get you started. And if you're interested in diving deeper into the concept, you can check out my masterclass on resilience.

The initial step (and just the first of several powerful techniques) to develop resilience is to begin with where we focus our attention.

“Whatever we focus our attention on grows. When we attend to what energizes or inspires us, we flourish.”– David Taylor-Klaus

You always get to choose what grabs your attention, however, we all naturally have a bias toward negativity. It's human nature. Have you ever noticed how hard it is to let go of negative thoughts versus positive thoughts?

We seem to easily forget the good things, but find it harder to shake the bad. It's simply harder to let go of negative information in general, which leads to a downward spiral.

So how do we break the cycle?

Despite all the stressful moments, can you think of positive moments too? No matter how small or brief? Can you think of a few examples in your own life? How does it feel to pay attention to them?

A positive focus broadens our perspective on our problems, helping us see them within the larger scope of our lives. In other words, broadening our view helps ditch the tunnel vision from negative thoughts and notice other opportunities around us to thrive.

To do this effectively we need to understand the way we think about events. Events themselves do not cause our feelings. Thoughts are just a lens through which to look at events.

• A positive lens = positive feelings
• A negative lens = negative feelings

For example...

Has changing the way you thought about something ever changed how you felt about it?

Thoughts have the ability to make you feel more empowered to deal with challenges. Helpful thoughts focus on the possibilities and the positives.

We don't want to use helpful thoughts to reject, avoid, or suppress negative feelings, but instead we can:

• Notice when negative thoughts are present
• Step away from these thoughts by observing them, not fighting or challenging them
• Consider more helpful alternative thoughts

This technique only scratches the surface and is intended to act as a starting point. If you're interested in learning more ways to develop resilience as an entrepreneur, check out my masterclass:

Entrepreneurial Resilience: How to Thrive Through Adversity

You'll learn how to use your values as motivation to push forward during times of stress and adversity and take action to cope with and control stressors. You'll even walk away with a workbook to guide you through the process of adapting these techniques to your own life and business.

To your success,

Dan Marzullo

P.S. By the way... whenever you’re ready, here are 2 ways I can help you:

Work with me 1:1 - Need help getting unstuck? Book a clarity call.

Courses - Sign up for a masterclass to learn tactical frameworks for the hardest parts of entrepreneurship.