Comfortable Being Uncomfortable

LOVE GENO WINE LETTER #262

Comfortable Being Uncomfortable

Good morning.

One thing I’ve learned about myself in business is that I’ve become comfortable being uncomfortable.

I used to hear people say that all the time.

Now I understand it.

Because if it were comfortable, everybody would be there.

I don’t wake up wanting things to be hard. I don’t ask for setbacks. I don’t go looking for another obstacle.

But somewhere along this marathon, I learned how to keep moving when things get uncomfortable.

I’m not the greatest public speaker.

That’s a weakness.

So what do I do?

Practice. Practice. Practice.

And when they call my name, I hit the stage.

I might be nervous. I might not feel completely ready. But I’m going to get up there and give the best performance I can.

In business school, they teach you about the SWOT analysis: Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats.

But you don’t need to go to business school to learn SWOT.

Life will teach it to you.

I know my strengths.

My strength is going to bed at 2:00 in the morning, waking up at 6:00 tired, not wanting to get up—and getting up anyway.

My strength is when I can’t see the light at the end of the tunnel, but I keep walking toward where I believe that light is going to be.

I know that strength is there.

That’s why I spend more time working on my weaknesses.

If I’m not good at something, I work on it.

If I don’t understand something, I learn it.

If something makes me uncomfortable, sometimes I walk directly toward it.

And then there are the opportunities.

Sometimes an opportunity doesn’t come with a guarantee.

Sometimes there’s no instruction manual.

Sometimes business feels like jumping out of an airplane without a parachute.

Or maybe you have the parachute—you just don’t know whether the damn thing is going to open.

And that’s where the threats come in.

Because one day, that parachute might not open.

That’s real.

Every idea won’t work.

Every investment won’t pay off.

Every door won’t open.

And every jump won’t end with a perfect landing.

But I’ve learned something:

I can’t spend my whole life sitting inside the airplane because I’m afraid of what might happen when I jump.

So I keep jumping.

I keep learning.

I keep practicing.

I keep working on my weaknesses.

And when I land, whether it was smooth or whether I hit the ground a little harder than I wanted, I pour myself a glass of Love Geno and get ready for the next flight.

Because after 262 letters, I’m still learning.

Know your strengths.
Work on your weaknesses.
Recognize your opportunities.
Respect your threats.

And learn to get comfortable being uncomfortable.

Because if it were comfortable…

everybody would be there.

Love, Geno 🍷