Why I almost gave up. And what saved me.
Now here comes something very personal. Something that I wasn’t able to say or share before. I feel like opening up, not because I need anyone to pity me – but the exact opposite. It feels liberating to drop the biologically programmed dopamine-driven need for validation. Furthermore, I believe this will inspire more of you to show vulnerability, which is one of the fastest ways to truly connect with each other.
If you are a striving business or start-up owner that is also bothered by questions such as “What is success and how to achieve it?” or you are a seeker to questions like “What is happiness?” or even “What is my purpose in this lifetime?”, then, reading through this might help you with your own reflections on your path to purpose, happiness and success.
The Start-up
In 2018 I started experimenting with making vegan cheese in my kitchen. My passion to solve my personal pain point was bigger than the hurdles I had to overcome to invent something that was tasty (and melty of course). It was about fun, passion, creativity, and about sharing the products with loved ones. It didn’t even occur to me at that point to turn this into a business model, a company, a full-sized production facility. But I guess our product did solve some problems (and keeps solving them), and so the organic growth started. From home production, to renting a small house, from one employee, to three, to five, to ten. Today we are about 20 SCMs (Swees Community Members – as we call ourselves), and since 2023 we are operating a fully licensed and internationally certified factory, country-wide distribution and export.
I was giving my blood, sweat, tears (and money and time) for it in the past seven years, and just very recent, I thought about giving it all up.
The Breakdown
Seeing many plant-based food startups both here in Thailand and internationally going bankrupt in the past years was saddening to witness. This has taught me a lot about reality versus perception. The behavior of the stock market and the behavior of consumers are two completely different things – but that’s a different story.
Another lesson learned from reality versus perception, is from a much more personal experience. In the past few years, friends and strangers kept coming saying “Wow, Nick, I see your products everywhere – you made it”. It’s true that thanks to our efforts, Swees has been growing, and our products got accepted into more grocery stores and restaurants, but did we make it? People around me perceive success, some even knocking on my door, because they want a slice of the cake. What they don’t see, is that I didn’t earn a single cent with Swees in all the 7 years, but always prioritizing our SCM’s, because I love them and I deeply care for them, and constantly investing again to make new products happen and bring them to the market. All that glitters is not gold. I think this is truer than ever in nowadays social media culture of oversharing (obviously just the good and glamorous things).
All the past five and more years since we incorporated our company was quite a ride, yet the last year was extra challenging, where apart from financial hurdles a lot of interpersonal challenges surfaced in our company. I was getting depressed. Swees is built on a vision of “We are One”. One growing community, that understands and supports each other in building something meaningful with transformative impact, that transcends how we do business. Where collaboration is in the forefront, so we can collectively move from survival into a state of thriving.
Seeing my own peers backstabbing and blaming each other was like a dagger right into my heart. It was emotionally definitely more painful and paralyzing than the monthly losses our company was making. The financials were paralyzing too, yet in a different way. Even though it was still emotional, it was a more practical issue to solve. How to pay salaries at the end of the month? How to cash in all the overdue invoices of our customers? For how much longer can we manage to finance this?
“Shoe Dog” by Nike Founder Phil Knight, being the most inspirational book on my entrepreneurial journey for all the years, I stuck to his mantra “Giving up is not an option.” However not too recent, for the first time, I considered quitting. No more responsibilities, no more pressure. Just find a way out of all of this. Talk to our investors and find a way to pay them the money back they entrusted to us. Talk to our SCM’s and tell them it’s over.
What would that mean then? Would I be a failure? I realized I wasn’t too much concerned about that last question, but a much more important question came up: What would I do next? And with this question I got my power back. And it’s also this question that leads to the answer “What is success, happiness and purpose?”
Running after worldly success
Homo sapiens is an interesting species, we do a lot to be liked. We are striving for fame, money, power, sacrificing our health and relationships along the way, all just for one thing: to be liked, to be seen, to be validated, to be admired, to rank up in the social hierarchy, just so that we finally, hopefully be loved. When I learned that this behavior is rooted in biology and dates back hundred thousand of years, it made a lot of sense and brought big relief.
How much was I doing in order to be liked? How much concerned was I about the worldly success of our company and to an extension of myself? How much admiration and validation were I seeking? Again, this is human and there is nothing wrong about this. But if we are on the quest to happiness, which I believe ultimately every one of us is, then focusing our energy and resources outwards might be overestimated.
In nature, everything grows from the inside out. I think us humans shouldn’t be an exception to that. What I mean is, that we should not depend on money, fame and worldly success to eventually feel happy. I know here is the paradox of life again: not focusing on money, but running a company with 20 employees, that has monthly cash burn. And as the reality of the paradox goes, both can be true. What happens if we focus on what we deep inside our hearts believe is important, meaningful and then start building from there. After all, this is exactly where the vision of Swees started and where the question of “what’s next” brought me back to.
It’s all about the vision
When I thought about quitting and then asking myself what I would be doing next, I realized that it’s less about the “what I do” and much more about the “how or why I do it”.
I envision a world of more peace, more harmony and more compassion – and Swees is a vehicle to express this. I desire to see a world where we can thrive collectively, innovating together to improve the life of all – and the Core Values at Swees are all about that. And most importantly, I choose to live a life of meaning and inspire others to find purpose and meaning in what they are doing, so that in the end, everyone is happier, healthier and more connected.
I saw that I have already been working towards my vision, but I got lost in the “what”, the external problems and happenings. I was focusing my attention too much on “let’s make this successful” rather than to appreciate how far we have already come. I concluded, that doing anything else wouldn’t make me more successful or happier than what I’m doing with my team at Swees today. In fact, we are very successful in what we are doing, we are a community of true changemakers.
This emotional breakdown came full circle and initiated more power in me than before. Power that lets me focus more on the work with the team, building the vision, and shedding the stress and fear of not making it, not being recognized, not being validated, and instead fully immerse myself in the presence, in the act of doing the real work, and by doing so, assigning meaning to every action.
I finally realized there is nothing to give up. The only thing I truly had to give up, was my need for control of outcome. Success exists only today, for tomorrow hasn’t come.
An invitation to you
Are you struggling with meaning in your work or life? Let me know and we can talk about it.
Если собираетесь тур по самым красивым направлениям Чехии, обязательно стоит зайти в Прагу — этот прекрасный город как будто создан для прогулок за 1 день. В руководстве по Праге вы встретите карту по Праге на 1 день, описывающий подобные точки как Петршинская башня, известная узкая улица в Праге и Вальдштейнский сад. Помимо этого не забудьте замок Хоуска и известный Велька Америка — натуральный природный природный объект в Чехии. Для подробного плана и советов по ключевым точкам стоит изучить вот этот ресурс прага за 1 день маршрут .
Когда речь заходит о местного пива, не забудьте попробовать лучшие сорта чешского пива, например такие как, традиционные сорта из разных частей страны и список лучшего пива с рейтингами и отзывами. В Чехии это пиво — это настоящая культура, и полезно ориентироваться, какое пиво выбрать из Чехии в форме сувенира. Если намерены выяснить больше о типах чешского пива и пивном наследии, рекомендуется познакомиться на разнообразные известные виды пива и производителей пива.
Если хотите путешествие и хотите узнать, как добраться с Домодедово до Восточного вокзала или изучаете маршрутом из аэропорта Будапешта до жд вокзала Келети, нужно заранее исследовать все варианты транспорта. К примеру, я совсем недавно искал информацию о том, как проехать из Германии в Беларусь и также путешествовал через Потсдам Сан-Суси – прекрасное место для отдыха. Для людей, кто не прочь посетить аутлеты, важно знать, что аутлеты в Будапеште дают хорошие скидки, а доехать до них без труда на общественном транспорте. При разработке маршрута по Чехии и Польше, например, из Вроцлава в Адршпах или из Ойцовского парка до Кракова, разумно заранее изучить расписание автобусов и возможности пересадок.
Если вам интересно скачать фото с Google Карт для личного использования, предлагаю посмотреть статьи на venagid.ru, где есть детальные инструкции и даже о том, как активировать esim в Казахстане онлайн. Ещё полезно знать, какое удаление между Шетпе и Бекет Ата, или как доехать с Киевского вокзала до Восточного на метро без задержек и без сложностей. Если интересует чей-то опыт Михаила Шварца в путешествиях, то на сайте venagid увидите много увлекательных заметок и комментариев. как добраться с восточного вокзала до ярославского на метро Такие нюансы позволяют сделать поездки более удобными и интересными.
When it pertains to finding the top clothing hues for blonde hair, blue eyes, and light skin, it’s vital to reflect on your overall undertone and skin season. For people with a light summer hair color or deep summer hair color, gentle tones like dusty rose, lavender, and powder blue typically complement fair complexion beautifully. If you’re not confident about what shades suit fair complexion and blonde hair, hair color assessment can support you in discovering the ideal shades for pale skin and blonde hair, along with muted summer hair color recommendations that highlight your natural features.
Examining the cool-toned summer color palette hair options covering hair color for summer skin can really improve your appearance. For example, most flattering colors for cool summer involve ash blondes and subtle browns, while bold winter hair color picks lean towards more dramatic contrast and dramatic effect. To explore more into light summer best hair colors and cool winter hair colors, I encountered this guide pretty useful here. It’s a excellent starting point if you’re interested in the top hair tone for the summer season or want to test out light summer hair hues yourself.
Купить забор из профнастила легко и выгодно, воспользовавшись расчет забора из профнастила.
Перед тем как купить забор из профнастила, рекомендуется провести сравнение предложений разных поставщиков.
организация физической охраны организация физической охраны .
Si sigues considerando una propuesta diferente, alojarte en cabanas es una alternativa que ha logrado enorme fama ultimamente. Ya sea un sitio burbuja en el sur de Espana, esta comarca o tierras madrilenas, estas estructuras proporcionan una forma diferente de convivir con la naturaleza salvaje sin prescindir a las facilidades. Hay alternativas que van desde cabanas estrella polar en tierras murcianas hasta bubble hotel en la region catalana o ademas burbujas proximas a Madrid, perfectas para una escapada de fin de semana.
Para personas que buscan conocer diferentes lugares, se ofrecen tambien viviendas burbuja en lugares como el Mediterraneo, el sur andaluz o este enclave, y campamento burbuja en diferentes lugares de tierras espanolas. Si te llama la atencion conocer tarifas o reservas, te invito a visitar burbuja ronda , donde podras consultar recursos vigente y opiniones de viajeros. La seleccion es considerable y casi seguro que descubriras el alojamiento en burbujas que mas se ajuste a tu idea.
Si andas considerando una experiencia original para las vacaciones ideales, el descanso en esferas es una posibilidad que paulatinamente gana mas reconocimiento. Desde refugio burbuja Andalucia hasta alternativas en burbuja Cataluna o bubble hotel en Madrid, estas experiencias presentan una manera singular de reconectar con la naturaleza sin prescindir a la comodidad. Por instancia, en burbuja Estrella Polar Murcia o burbujas granada es posible experimentar de noches magicas bajo las estrellas brillantes con increible privacidad y comodidad absoluta.
Para los que desean espacios mas urbanos y accesibles, las burbujas proximas a Madrid o burbuja Malaga son una estupenda alternativa para escapadas especiales de fin de semana. Tambien hay destinos distintas como cabanas burbuja Cataluna o camping burbuja Alicante, amoldandose a variados estilos y bolsillos. Si te llama la atencion explorar mas referencias y costos sobre los alojamientos en burbujas especiales, te animo a visitar a este sitio casas burbuja catalunya , donde descubriras informacion relevante y orientaciones fiables.
Si vas explorando una vivencia original, el sitio burbuja en diversas provincias de la peninsula como el sur de Espana, tierras catalanas o la Comunidad de Madrid es una propuesta cada vez mas valorada. Estas alojamientos burbuja o casas burbuja presentan una opcion exclusiva de unirse con la tierra sin renunciar a las comodidades, inmejorables para fugas de dos o para alejarse del bullicio cotidiano.
En ubicaciones como burbuja estrella polar de Murcia, hospedaje burbuja cerca de Alicante o burbujas a las afueras de la Comunidad de Madrid, puedes descubrir posibilidades que se amoldan a tu presupuesto, ya sea un capsula en camping o una capsula de cristal con perspectivas sorprendentes. Para explorar distintas ubicaciones y costos, te propongo explorar [url=https://hotelburbujaespana.top]camping burbuja andalucia[/url] , donde veras guias reciente y resenas de las mas destacadas burbujas en todo el pais.
Откройте для себя возможности астрологии онлайн: [url=https://wstro87.ru/]астрология онлайн[/url] и узнайте, как звезды влияют на вашу повседневную жизнь.
Предлагаются дневной, недельный и месячный гороскопы, натальные карты и тесты совместимости.
Si estas necesitas opciones costeras en la zona costera Tenerife, rentar vehiculos acuaticos es una perfecta manera para navegar por la costa y gozar del oceano de modo amena y vibrante. En el sur de la isla, especialmente en zonas como zonas como Costa Adeje, puedes encontrar desde alquileres directos hasta aventuras organizadas en moto de agua que se ajustan a todo tipo de niveles.
Para todo aquel que desean comparar precios y alternativas, aconsejo explorar ofertas de prestadores que facilitan alquiler y tours en jetskis en Tenerife, incluyendo tambien alternativas como safari en jet ski o alquiler de jet skis en la capital de Tenerife. Todos los detalles y detalles sobre itinerarios y tarifas puedes encontrar aqui: [url=https://motoaguatenerife.top]alquiler de motos de agua en tenerife precios[/url] . ?Genial para disfrutar de un dia especial y gozar del litoral canario!