You cannot fail if you do not quit.

The Dalai Lama said, “You cannot fail if you do not quit.”

This week, I had tremendous writer's block. Getting these words out has been trial some and tumultuous. But here we are.

Before we jump into The Hero’s Journal, a quick note:

When we start something new, we often know the first few steps but rarely know where the journey will take us. That’s okay. The important part is that we see it through.

The Hero’s Journal

Last week, our heroes leaned on allies to unpack and fulfill the Kickstarter orders. This week, we talk about the uncertainty that crept in afterward.

The challenges in our business were never about whether our product could help people—we know it does. The uncertainty was about whether the business itself would work. A great product is part of the equation, but for a business to thrive, nearly everything else has to align, too.

Our biggest challenge? Cash flow.

For those not in the journal business, here’s a quick breakdown:

• Q1: Decent sales

• Q2: Brutal sales

• Q3: Decent sales

• Q4: Incredible sales

We launched our Kickstarter in February, with a massive influx of cash in March. Then I made a few key mistakes.

1. We offered our existing product as part of the Kickstarter (good idea), but customers wanted those journals shipped immediately. We covered the shipping costs ourselves—$10 x 2,000 orders = $20,000 gone.

2. After the Kickstarter, our main business slowed down, but fixed expenses didn’t. Meanwhile, our ad spend had only a 1.5 ROAS, meaning we weren’t making enough back.

3. When the journals arrived, we got hit with $25,000 in import tariffs.

4. Oh, and Kickstarter takes 10%, or about $30,000.

Now our $303,000 Kickstarter was shrinking fast.

We had never done a Kickstarter of this size before. There was no way to fully predict the outcome.

This was the trough of despair.

The only thing we had less of than money was sleep.

So we stepped back, took a breath, and regrouped.

Because the only way to fail is to quit.

Next week, I’ll share how we climbed out of that hole.

Atypical

For five years, Trey has been on a content journey—learning new editing techniques, storytelling approaches, and, yes, even technique techniques. But after making 10+ videos about the same topics (rivalries, day-in-the-life, injuries), it gets harder to keep things fresh.

Yet, Trey keeps reinventing how he approaches recovery. He’s changed his diet, built new workout routines, and practiced new mental frameworks.

The headline may be the same, but the person in the videos is always changing (for the better).

And that’s the power of persistence.

The only way to fail is to quit.

Reading

Still working through Do Hard Things—it’s really good.

Also, Diary of a CEO dropped an episode with Alex Hormozi this week. If you’re into entrepreneurship, this is a must-listen. Even from the first time I saw his content, it’s clear he’s continued to grow. (Weird thing for me to say about a literal billionaire, haha.)

Coffee

Casey and I had visitors this week, so I got to make them some lattes. They were so excited about it.

It reminded me: the setup I have and the level of mastery I’ve developed over coffee is a gift. To Casey and me, it feels normal. But it’s still a gift.

Conclusion

You cannot fail if you do not quit.

This newsletter is proof. It took me three times longer to write than usual. I have pages of discarded words. But I told myself, “I’m sending a newsletter today. That’s non-negotiable.”

So if you’re reading this, you’re seeing what it looks like to not quit.

Kyle