Yikes. It’s been a while.
Normally I write a post here every single week. Without fail. No matter what. But sometimes, probably 3 or 4 times a year, my workload increases to an almost unsustainable level. I say almost because the only way I can maintain it is to give myself a break when it comes to trying to do ‘all the things’. And so, that’s why it’s been a couple of weeks since you last heard from me.
OK, apology over haha. But let me give you a little context…
This last couple of months have been mental, to say the least, but the last 2 weeks? Next level.
I flew back from the US, super stoked & super grateful for all the amazing stuff that went down on that trip, and all the groundwork we put in place for what comes next. I was in that crazy (but awesome) mode of feeling exhausted but energised, buzzing but grounded.
I knew that there wasn’t going to be much time to spare, that I needed to hit the ground running, but I was grateful for a 30-hour window between getting home and picking up a client from the airport for 4 days of branding & business.
Except the universe had other plans. After a sleepless flight from LA, my bags got lost, which meant I missed my connecting flight home. No biggie, I booked on the next flight and settled in at the airport for a few hours. But then my flight was delayed, and then delayed a little longer, then eventually cancelled. By this point it was about 11 pm, I was kinda over it.
Everyone was kicking off in line… lots of angry people. So I quietly booked myself on another (over-priced) flight the next evening and jumped online to grab a hotel room. It was almost midnight as I stood in line to catch the bus to my hotel, and my sleepiness was getting the better of me…. especially when the bus finally arrived and the driver refused to let me on with my surfboard.
Haha, the joys of travel. 40 mins later (and a much nicer driver) and I rock up at my hotel. I figure something is wrong the moment we pull into the carpark. There are people everywhere. Turns out booking.com kept booking people into a hotel that was already full. I laughed at the ridiculous-ness (it’s a word… especially at 1 am in the morning) of the situation, ordered a pizza and sat on the floor at reception and got caught up on emails.
By 2.30am it was kinda obvious the hotel had run out of options. I jumped on a shuttle bus back to the airport, found a quiet spot and made a base for the night (feeling oh-so-smug that my board bag was full of Mexican blankets haha).
The next day was looooong. I was that slightly feral looking girl camped out in the airport. But it was all good… I had a base, I had power & wifi.
By 7.30pm that night, after a day of working from Gatwick, I finally got home. Exhausted but well aware that there wasn’t really any time to be exhausted.
Up early the next day (hello jet lag) and ready to go again. I was picking up a client & her crew from the airport. She’d booked out 4 days. 2 days to map out the internship program for her daughter (that I’m insanely excited to be a part of), and 2 days of branding & business strategy 1:1.
But by Saturday morning, 2 days in… it felt like the universe had other plans. It seemed that our little gang was being tested to it’s very limits. Every single one of us was dealing with some kind of entrepreneurial chaos.
We skipped from problem solving for one of us straight into problem solving for another. And I’m not talking about minor stuff here… I’m talking about serious shit going down. Stuff that requires immediate attention. Emergency Skype calls. Group thinking. Pep talks & big hugs.
And that, my friends, is how the last week has unfolded. Panicked what-the-hell-should-I-do messages. Late night missions to rally around and make shit happen. Letting go of our own stuff to help each other out. Multiple you’ve-got-this group texts. It feels like we’ve been playing pass-the-parcel with major business dramas, barely having any time to rest as we switch roles from support crew to being the person dealing with the issue.
Last night, as I simultaneously celebrated one massive (and I mean, massive) win with one of our team and wiped the tears from my face as I explained my latest challenge to two epic friends, I had a realisation.
This is the meaning of tribe.
This crew, these friends, this family. All walking their own path. All figuring this shit out as they go along. But all having each other's backs. No matter what.
There is infinite power in these relationships.
It’s funny. I wrote about tribes exactly a month ago. Fresh off the back of an awesome speaking opportunity at Blue Mind. Riffing on the all amazing synchronicity that happens when you choose to surround yourself with the right people. Celebrating all the good stuff.
And then boom, 30 days later and the real value shows up. These moments, when you are covered in the metaphorical blood, sweat and (not so metaphorical) tears of entrepreneurship, when you understand what it means to have a tribe.
So I’ll leave you with this one thought: This journey is tough. You will be tested, again and again. Please please please don’t attempt to do this alone. Get out there and find your people (and when you do…. love them hard).