Yesterday I was talking to my wife and partner (same lady,  by the way) and she was asking me about how I could have so much pressure always and always look calm. Now before I let you in on my superpowers and talk blatantly about my immense capacity to deal with stress, I want to let you know that it is not that complicated and that I am not as cool as James Bond.  I crack just like everyone else, and those that know me, know I do.  But, there is always a good poker face that you have to give for hard or good situations.  Even if you are frustrated, we have to remember that it is all part of a cycle and it really is not that crucial. Unless you are dealing with a life/death situation, business is just another aspect of life.

What I told her might surprise you, because it sounds so simple and, to be honest, it might sound irresponsible.  But I told her that all those years that I have worked for someone else and now that I am working for myself, the best way to deal with the pressure was to make a decision and immediately forget about it and move on to the next thing.  Crazy as it may sound, this is the way I have always been able to multitask, work on multiple projects, travel 80% of my time and balance a beautiful family life.  I am not saying you should do this, but this is what works for me.

The reason is that I follow my mother’s advise. Trust your instincts.  And I do.  I might think about something 1 hour or 1 week, but about 90% of the time, what I thought at first is usually how I handle a problem.  Your instinct is shape and molded by experience, education and knowledge, I am not talking about survival or primal instinct (save me the psychology lesson please).  As part of my ongoing education in life, we get to learn every day and mess up every day. So there are somethings you will never forget, and there are somethings you will do over and over (hitting yourself at the corner of that table perhaps?) Once you make a decision, it’s done, you really can’t do much about it, unless you decide to change it quickly and then, you start guessing, did I do the right thing? what if I… you get the point.

So in my infinite wisdom and super wise ways I told this to my wife, who promptly laughed and changed the subject.  Prophets are never welcomed in their own home…. So, if you are feeling the crunch, like I am right about now, and your family knows it, don’t hide it, talk to them and be humble enough to admit that fear, insecurity and doubt also hounds you and when you recognize that you do not need to be superhuman or appear to be so, you will look at yourself in the mirror and look at the guys that your family loves and respects, a hardworking and loving man, at least in my case.

Keep calm and stay humble