Think week

I got in my car and drove 3,029 miles ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ PSA: You should take a “think week.” 3 years ago, I hit my breaking point. So… I got in my car and drove 3,029 miles. No destination. No plan. Nothing. This drive across the country… grew my business by 6,900%. Here’s the story: -- It’s May 2020 (my 3rd year as a founder). I’m running 2 different businesses + dabbling in dozens of side projects. I’m working 80 hours a week. And I’m living with my mom at 29 years old in the name of “ramen profitability”. But… I can’t even crack $10K/month in revenue. And my revenue isn’t growing. I’m working myself to the bone. And I have nothing to show for it. I’m f*ing burnt out. Then… I come across an article about Bill Gates… Every year, he does this thing called a “think week” at his tiny waterfront cottage in the Pacific Northwest. He takes a week off every year with no email, no twitter, no nothing! He just… thinks. I ask myself: Should I do a think week? Maybe it will get me out of my mom’s basement. And give me some ideas on how I can cross $10k/month. But… there’s one problem… I can’t afford a cute little waterfront cottage like Bill Gates. I need a cheaper option. So I get in my car and start driving across the country. I head… west. No destination. My only goal: to think about solutions. Just me and my thoughts and the open road. And I ask myself: How do I fix my burnout? Why won’t my businesses grow? Will I ever be as rich as Bill Gates? From mile 0 to 500, my answer: “I’ll just work harder.” From mile 500-1,000, my answer: “I’ll just start another business!” From mile 1,000-1,500, my answer: "I’ll work smarter, go hard on X productivity system, or Y new marketing channel.” But none of these feel right. So, I simply… let go. I just keep driving and stop forcing myself to think about an answer. And then, around mile 2,000, in the middle of nowhere Oregon, it finally hits me: My revenue isn’t growing because I’m doing 1,000 things, and I’m focused on nothing. I’m running 2 completely different businesses at the same time - desperate to make both of them work. Having all these projects gives me the illusion of safety. If one thing fails, I won’t have all my eggs in one basket, right? Yes, but in doing so, I’m neglecting the one project with the biggest potential: starterstory.com Starter Story could be huge if I gave it the time it deserved. At this moment, everything clicked. I had crystal clarity on exactly what I needed to do. When I finished my road trip, I immediately shut down all of my other projects. And went all in on starterstory.com. Within 30 days, I doubled revenue. Within 2 months, I tripled revenue. And last month, revenue was 60x bigger than it was “pre-Think Week”. During my think week, I drove 3,029 miles over the course of 8 days. But I needed 2,000 miles of driving to come to the best decision I ever made as a founder: going all in. And that’s why you should not take a “think day” or a “think weekend.” You should take a “think week.” [Join Starter Story Today]( And unlock unlimited access to 4,000+ case studies, deep dives, a private community of builders, and more. Best, Pat Walls Founder, StarterStory.com [Twitter]( [Facebook]( [Instagram]( Starter Story - PO Box 3003 Jackson, WY 83001 Click [here]( if you want to stop receiving emails from us.