“Dawn is born at midnight.” - Carl Jung

There’s an old psychological principle called:

The Valley of Despair

And if you’re not in it already, chances are, you will be soon.

Here’s the idea…

Whenever we begin a new project (a business, a training program, a relationship, whatever) we move through five predictable stages before we reach success:

1. Uninformed Optimism:

”This AI drop-shipping SMMA is gonna make me a millionaire!”

(or: Yep, she’s definitely my soul mate. My astrologist told me so.)

2. Informed pessimism:

“I’ve sent five cold DMs and nobody has responded yet. I knew this internet shit was a scam.”

(or: But she keeps chewing with her mouth open and last night she farted in her sleep… Better fire up the old Hinge account.)

3. The valley of despair:

“Damn, I’m gonna be working at Subway forever.”

(or: Love doesn’t exist, and neither does astrology. Stupid-ass Gemini.)

4. Informed optimism:

“Oh, I just need to send 1000 cold DMs instead of 5? Okay bet.”

(or: Maybe nobody is perfect, and all relationships take work.)

5. Success:

“Hello MTV, welcome to my crib.”

(or: We’re pregnant!)

The journey takes many forms, but the steps are the same for everyone:

We move from naive excitement about something we’ve never done, to disappointment when we realize it’s harder than we thought, to hopelessness when we realize it’s not only harder, but also takes way longer.

That’s when we find ourselves in the valley of despair.

And that’s where most people quit.

Some quit forever, while others leap to another opportunity because it sounds faster and easier.

Some continue that cycle for years. Some for the rest of their lives.

Only a rare few open their eyes and realize:

All roads lead through the valley of despair.

And the only way out… Is through.

- T

P.S. I posted a new video on YouTube yesterday, but it was under-performing so I pulled it.

The content bangs (it’s a behind-the-scenes look at a recent coaching call) but it’s much better as a podcast than a video.

So I’ve posted the podcast version for you, which you can access on your platform of choice below:

​Listen on Spotify.​

​Listen on Apple.​

Enjoy :)

(BTW, I don’t promote the podcast much — so dropping a rating and review is super helpful. Muchas gracias.)