The Powerful Perseverance Secrets Hidden in a Horror Series
3 Key Lessons for Discouraged Entrepreneurs
Who knew a horror show could teach you about business? If you’re a TV fan like me, and you enjoy scaring the shit out of yourself, you might’ve come across From. For the uninitiated, the show is about a group of people trapped in a town full of nightmares you wouldn’t believe. Sure, From is packed with jumpscares and nightmare fuel, but what surprised me to see were the lessons in leadership and business. These unexpected lessons resonated with me in ways that made me rethink how I approach my own journey with launching OBA. But as I watched the series with my wife, I stumbled upon a few nuggets of wisdom that have stuck with me — lessons on leading under the worst possible circumstances.
Lesson 1: “Nature always puts what’s most precious behind things hardest to penetrate.”
There’s a scene in From where Jade, a billionaire dickhead, is hallucinating a conversation with a dead character, Tom. Jade is ready to throw in the towel, frustrated with a problem he can’t solve. Tom tells him, “It’s natural design. Same reason your brain’s in your skull, your heart’s behind your ribs. Nature always puts what’s most precious in the spots most difficult to reach.”
The more I thought about it, the more I realized how often we avoid what we must do because it’s hard. I’m guilty of it — spending more time rearranging my Google Calendar than actually tackling the tasks on it. Most of the time, I’m afraid of an outcome or worried I won’t succeed.
Running a business is one of those things most people say they want to do until they’re actually running one. I had Joe Lowery, a digital marketing agency founder, on my podcast who bluntly said, “Don’t do it!” Joe’s point wasn’t to discourage entrepreneurship but to emphasize just how freaking hard it is.
But if you think about what Tom said, it’s not supposed to be easy. The things most precious — our whys — are often behind those hardest-to-reach places. So if you find yourself thinking, “God, this is so damn hard,” good. Achieving what you really want is supposed to be hard. Keep going.
Lesson 2: “When on a quest, you have to face the scary thing.”
Ethan Matthews might be one of the cutest kids on TV, but he’s also one of the bravest. After his friend tried to kill him, Ethan chose to confront his fear. When his parents told him it was too dangerous, little Ethan replied, “We’re on a quest; when you’re on a quest, you have to face the scary thing.” This advice seems simple, almost obvious, but it’s profoundly true.
Lately, I’ve been terrified of failure. Night after night, I lie in bed thinking about all the what-ifs. What if no one reads the newsletter? What if OBA fails? What if the people who’ve believed in my vision see it all crumble?
But channeling my inner Ethan, I remind myself that we are, in fact, on a journey. Nightmares and monsters will pop up along the way. The only thing to do is face them. Not confronting your fears doesn’t make them disappear; only prolongs the inevitable.
Another quote from the show that sticks with me: “You cannot have bravery without fear. Fear is what makes you a hero.” Starting a business might not feel heroic, but in your own life’s story, you are the hero. What makes a hero is the ability to face fear and not run away.
When you find yourself terrified, asking those what-ifs, remember that the answer lies in standing up to them. Acknowledge the fear — that’s okay — but keep fighting anyway. That’s the only way to achieve anything.
Lesson 3: “We know more now than we did earlier; that’s a win.”
Not long ago, I hit a crisis with OBA. A key component of our business model couldn’t be executed, which was devastating. It was devastating. I told my wife I didn’t think we could move forward, that I was destined for 9–5 hell forever. I pouted for four days, over-dramatizing the situation, as I often do. But my wife had enough. She sat me down and said, “Yes, this sucks, but now we know what doesn’t work, so let’s find what does. You got this.”
I found a workaround, and OBA has been back on track since. So imagine my surprise when I watched From and saw Boyd, the town’s stoic sheriff, face a crisis that could wipe out the entire town. While everyone else fell apart, Boyd realized that even though he didn’t know how to stop the crisis, uncovering what was behind it gave him more information than he had before — and that had to count as a win.
It’s hard not to see setbacks as the end of the road. But what I find encouraging from Boyd and my wife is that a setback is just data — information you can use to figure out how to move forward. The Ancient Roman Emperor, Marcus Aurelius said, “The impediment to action advances action. What stands in the way becomes the way.”
Recognize that even when your world is crashing down, you know more about how to move forward than you did before, and that’s a win.
Where do we go from here?
TV is a major time suck for most of us, but many times the most important lessons come from stories. For me, learning the value of facing your fears, taking setbacks as lessons, and persisting in the face of resistance have been game-changing.
The next time you feel like you can’t push forward, like it’s just too scary, remember that everything you want is just on the other side of those what-ifs.
I’d love to hear about the toughest life lessons you have learned through starting your venture, business or otherwise. Leave a comment and let’s talk about it! We’re in this nightmare facing the monsters together.
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