Have you ever felt like you were having a heart attack?

Expert's Panel with Joe Minock - Startup Developer and Coach at Athlete Progress - How to Ride The Entrepreneurial Rollercoaster without Losing Your Pants​

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I went out and got the best of the best for you. 

I spoke with experts, doctors, and spiritual teachers.

I asked these high achievers about their fears and how they move through them to live the life they love. 
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​In March of 2015 I woke up and thought I was having a heart attack.

It wasnt the first time I had been anxious, but it was definitely the worst.

My heart felt like it was blasting through my chest. I couldn't breathe, and couldn't get my breathing under control. Couldn't get my heart rate under control.

When I was finally able to settle down I vented to my girlfriend about everything that was going on. She was a saint. She helped me through the roughest time in my life....

"I was basically allowing myself to be abused. Carrying a massive workload and seeing no reward for it..." 

'I had built our company, sold to all of our clients, built the product....

But I felt the team wasn't focused. I didn't think they were going after the right type of clients. They were doing their job, but not in a way that as focused and I couldn't seem to get it under control.

We knew a certain kind of client would be best, and I was basically allowing myself to be abused. Carrying a massive workload and seeing no reward for it. 

I always have had a please everyone' type of attitude.

go go go. do do do.

Always say yes.

I had not set any boundaries or set any limits to what I was going to do. So in doing that I lost all control over my life and. business

I set myself up for failure. 

What are 3 ways you help yourself back to calm? 

1. Say no.

"How do you discern what to say no to?" I asked.

This comes from a blog post or Tim Ferris podcast with Derek Sivers ((One of my personal heros - Derek are you single?!)).

I ask myself, can I say "Fuck yea" to what ever I am entering in to and and totally get behind it?

If not, I have to say no.


Is it something that I am going to love?

Or something that just seems like a ton of work with no reward?

If I need to say no, I try to find an eloquent way of doing it.

If i cant find an eloquent way, I just say no!

For instance right now, normally when someone asks me to do something in coffee shop like you are doing,  I say no! ((See, I AM special!))

2. As humans we are great at knowing WHAT we want to do, but not HOW to do it. 

If I cant define HOW I am going to do something I don't give it any of my time or focus until I can define how to approach it. 

​When I do this, I don't get stressed out over things I cant control.

Yet, if something is in a nebulous state I can't influence it - You can only control and plan for what you know. 

This allows me to keep ideas in idea phase until I can exercise actual influence. 

((The unknown is one of the scariest edges for us all. We will always face unknown, and the more we can let go, the more creative that space can be. If you can sit in the unknown without filling the space, you can allow yourself to be supported by your faith and the mighty universe)).

3. Have a plan - write sh!t down  

I have a heat sensitive note pad that you can erase with heat and water in the microwave! It's called a Rocket book. I use it to create form from the fog. 

Start with what you know. I use a system that comes from Jason Freed and David Heinemeier Hansson (the creators of base camp).

It's a simple system that uses orders of understanding. You match the size of your writing utensil to how much you know. 

The more you know, the smaller the utensil you can use and really fill in the details. Start with the broad strokes. I like to use a marker board and go from there. 

It was a total a-ha for me because I am detail oriented to a fault and I need to see the big picture AND the details. This way I can start to organize my ideas in order of magnitude and add in the details under the larger headings. 
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Joe Minock is Startup Developer and Coach at Athlete Progress. He is a man of many talents including furniture building. Twitter is the best way to reach Joe. Or, email him at joe.minok@gmail.com ​- you know he'll only get back to you if it's a FUCK YES so take the risk and reach out if he inspires you~ even if it is just to say THANK-YOU.