Building a business is a roller coaster, and in the early days each up and down feels like life or death… because it probably is. It’s crazy stressful and exhilarating and stressful and fun and stressful.

Yes, the stress is always there — on weekends, late at night and the second you wake up. The only way to deal with this anxiety is to turn it into fuel and keep grinding. Angry? Work. Scared? Work. Nervous? Work. Keep your head down, stay in the lab, stay ahead and you’ll find your solutions.

Once your business is further along, don’t expect the ups and downs to go away. Really, they get more frequent. Everyday is a mixed bag of good and bad. This is a good thing. It means there’s a lot going on. But it takes some getting used to. You don’t know how you should feel. Take a few minutes to appreciate the wins… take a few minutes to learn from the losses… but don’t take too much time away from grinding.

Last night at dinner my friend told me, “If you really obsess over something, it’ll happen.” I agree, and when I’m going to bed at night, I like to picture impossibly idealistic scenarios that are 1-2 years out. It’s relaxing. It’s delusional. So far all of them have come true.

Everything that happens — good and bad — is usable energy. Harness it. Run with it. Don’t stop.

Holler at me @jasonwstein.