Most entrepreneurs treat stress like currency. The less you sleep, the harder you grind, the more “serious” you must be about success. I used to think the same thing. Until pressure-driven hustle cost me six figures and nearly destroyed everything I’d built.
I recently spoke with Techager about why success built on stress eventually crumbles—and what happened when I stopped building from scarcity and started creating from peace.
After my golf career ended due to chronic autoimmune issues, I threw myself into entrepreneurship with something to prove. Every decision carried the weight of redemption. Every setback felt personal. I was chasing validation disguised as revenue, and when a venture failed spectacularly, I lost six figures and found myself financially destroyed.
Standing at rock bottom, I discovered something counterintuitive: the pressure driving my hustle was exactly what prevented me from succeeding.
The real test came later. Client applications flooded in at unprecedented rates—the kind of overwhelming demand most founders dream about. Every business instinct screamed to accept everyone, outsource the work, scale aggressively. The pressure to capitalize was immense.
But I’d started a daily meditation practice by then. Instead of reacting with urgency, I paused. Something felt off about rapid expansion. “I wasn’t confident others would deliver the same quality I provide,” I explained in the piece. “If even one client had a bad experience, it could damage my reputation.”
So I did the unthinkable: I turned down revenue. Intentionally slowed down. Focused only on existing clients. While competitors rushed to capture market share, I chose patience.
The outcome? My reputation stayed intact. Quality remained consistent. And when the right moment arrived—when my systems and experience were actually ready—I scaled safely and sustainably. Meanwhile, the entrepreneurs who’d rushed burned out or collapsed under premature growth.
My first six figures came after relocating and restructuring my environment to support inner calm. My first seven figures followed shortly after, accelerating naturally rather than through forced growth. The meditation practice that seemed “soft” became my competitive advantage across Pabs Marketing, Alive DevOps, and Pabs Tech Solutions.
If you’ve ever wondered why your most intense hustle periods produce the worst decisions, or why success feels unstable even when revenue is growing, this conversation breaks down exactly what’s happening—and how to build something sustainable instead.
Read the full article on Techager →
Because in the long game of building companies that last, calm isn’t just an advantage. It’s the foundation everything else is built on.