A personal post and a short update before the holidays

You might have realised that my weekly newsletter experiment was interrupted and that I have been a bit more silent than usual. I'll explain more of the why and how in this section; meanwhile, here is a link to my most recent post on Pre-money valuation for an early-stage startup.

Let's get going! It will be personal and not as structured as a regular post.

Why do I write as much?

First of all, the main goal of this blog is to act as a creative outlet for potential reflections on what I found interesting, a lot of it being entrepreneurship and inner life. I find it intrinsically rewarding. The cadence of writing one to two times a week makes me more in tune with what has the potential for reflection daily. The same effect is what makes going around with a camera in your hands increase your receptiveness to what is beautiful.

I like to view the world as an open space full of things shining that are available for us to connect with before moving on to the next one. They are everywhere; it is just that we have lost the ability to be attuned.

A way to be more open is to move from routines to rituals, where the latter is more focused and attuned. Of course, not everything needs to be a ritual; not every ritual will matter for you all your life, but the need for rituals is key for me to a meaningful life. There is a place and time for microwaving your cup of coffee and a place for connecting with the beans, picking the right cup and tasting each sip. Life can be richer with a bit more of the latter.

Hold things lightly

However, life is in flux, and we should be able to surf it. This last month has been packed with unexpected events, and as an experienced surfer, I had to temporarily let go of something dear to me (like writing this blog) to allow me to ride the wave.

In just a few weeks: we had an unexpected severe illness in our little family that we are learning to deal with; we worked hard to finalise the transaction selling Pilloxa, the company I founded and drove; we are moving to Uppsala, just 30 minutes from Stockholm, and I am for the first time since I came to Sweden exploring what to do next starting from a blank slate from the 1st of January.

Build resiliency

Entrepreneurship is filled with moments where you might feel like drinking water from a firehose.

First of all, it is critical to hold two ideas at the same time in your head (paraphrasing the Stockdale principle):
- you must be 100% sure that you will go successfully through a challenging period. That you will prevail in the end. Have a solid and unwavering conviction.
- you should also be honest about the facts and accept reality as is without creating fake or overly optimistic stories.

The steps to go through this kind of contingent emergency are always the same:
- breathe and find a stable ground
- remember that you always have choices
- clean your agenda and mental To-Do list
- establish new priorities
- repopulate your agenda and list
- focus on your following action, one action at the time
- accept that you will reduce your time horizon from months to days or hours, even if for a short time.
- set that time (for me, until the end of the year).

In this prioritisation list, I decided to temporarily let go of things I cherish, like writing for this blog, to make me a better surfer.  

Growth is always available if you look for it

Plus, there is always growth waiting for you to discover it. For example, I am learning:
- how to express, without any judgement, the full range of human emotions and be more comfortable with them arising and disappearing around me;
- how to ask for help and engage people that want to on their terms.

When looking back at this period in the future, I will be grateful for the growth it brought together with the challenges.

Thank you for reading!

/Francesco