Long-term thinking is most powerful when everything is falling apart
As the aircraft took off, Nathan tried not to think of his business anymore. This five-week trip to South Africa was a well-deserved break.
Sitting next to him on that December flight was Hilary, the girl he was going to marry in five months.
There was no reason to feel guilty about taking time off. After all, months of hard work were finally paying off. His freelance web design business was on to steady growth. And he had just closed November with his highest monthly revenue ever: $14,000.
With a ton more clients lined up to start projects when he returned, Nathan sat back and relaxed, imagining many other record-breaking months ahead.
Except the year was 2008. The recession soon hit all of Nathan’s clients.
And when he came back from his trip in early January 2009, every single one of those projects was canceled.
When the year ahead is impossible to envision
The days following the South African trip weren’t very pleasant.
Unsure what to do, and with a wedding to pay for in five months, he took a full-time job with the only client he had left.
