Ep. 46 The Wolf You Feed

Seed Stage is one of the toughest phases of your business journey. After the early wins of first customers and funding, things get really hard. Your product isn't nearly as ready as you thought it was.Your sales and marketing isn't punching through.Team members who you thought were great turn out to be disastrous.The market shifts and you have to adapt.There are a dozen other disasters and crises that you never saw coming. Any and all of these happen during Seed Stage. And you are doing it all with a limited runway. Maybe the toughest thing is that as you navigate all this, you may feel like you are not making progress. Your sales aren't happening the way you thought. Your product is full of bugs. Some part of your team feels like it's about to implode. It's super stressful. It can cause you to question your abilities, your vision and whether you are really up for it. So how do you stay positive and focused through all the mess? It comes down to the wolf you feed.  There's an old parable:An old grandfather was teaching his grandson about life:“A fight is going on inside me,” he said to the boy.“It is a terrible fight and it is between two wolves. One is evil–he is frear, anger, envy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority, and ego.”He continued, “The other is good – he is abundance, joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion, and faith. The same fight is going on inside you–and inside every other person, too.”The grandson thought about it for a minute and then asked his grandfather: “Which wolf will win?”The grandfather simply replied, “The one you feed.” ​​​ In this week's Rocket Ship Founder podcast episode I talk about how to navigate the turbulence of Seed Stage. I cover: Understanding the Seed Stage wolves One killer exercise for feeding the right wolf  2 habits to keep you positive and resilient This 12-minute listen is one of the most important lessons I've learned in Founder life.To your success!StevePS I coach an amazing group of Seed Stage founders. If you'd like to join our tribe, reply back and we'll set up at time to talk.