The Easy Button Failed

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Yesterday hit hard.

You ever think you’ve got something handled, only to watch it fall apart? That was me. I got some news. Not the good kind. The kind that makes your stomach turn and your brain race. I didn’t freak out. I had already seen it coming. I had a plan. Thought I had the “easy button.” Press it, problem solved.

Except it didn’t work.

I tried again. Still nothing.

That’s when it hit me—this wasn’t going to be easy. I was about to be tested.

The Gut Check

I’ve been in business long enough to know things don’t always go your way. Even when you plan. Even when you prep. Life throws curveballs, and this one came in fast.

So what do you do when your fix doesn’t fix it? You scramble.

I started thinking through other ways to handle it. Called a few people. Looked at numbers. Rethought everything. I even tried some options I had ignored before. That’s the funny thing about pressure—it forces you to look again at stuff you had brushed off.

One idea led to another. I kept going.

But I kept quiet about it at home. I didn’t want my wife to feel it. She carries enough. No need to weigh her down with this mess.

Still, as it dragged on, I knew I couldn’t keep her in the dark.

Bringing Her In

When you’re married, you’re not the only one carrying the load. But sometimes, you want to be. You think, “I got this,” because you want to protect the people you love.

But sometimes you don’t got this.

So I sat down with her and told her what was going on. She listened. Then we talked it through. We picked apart the options.

And I felt the stress tighten. Now she’s carrying this weight too.

The Fix

Eventually, after some back and forth, a path opened up. Not a perfect one. Not clean or easy. But better. Something we could work with.

I made calls. Sent emails. Rearranged time. I did what needed to be done.

And it looks like we’re back on solid ground again.

The Lesson

Here’s what I took from all of it:

The easy button might look good, but it won’t always save you. And sometimes, that’s the best thing.

Because if it had worked, I wouldn’t have learned a thing.

I wouldn’t have stretched, thought creatively, opened up to my wife and had that moment of shared pressure that made us even tighter.

I would have just moved on, no better than before.

This Is Business

If you run a business, you already know the truth. It’s not smooth. It’s not safe. You solve one problem, and two more show up. You don’t just wear one hat—you wear all of them. Some days you feel on top of the world. Others, you want to quit.

But you keep showing up.

Because deep down, you know it’s worth it. You’re building something. Not just for yourself, but for the people you love, the ones counting on you, and maybe even the version of you five years ago who dreamed of this life.

Reality Check

Social media doesn’t show this side of the story. It shows the highlight reel. The beach trip. The “we just hit $1M” post. The grinning team photos. That’s all great, but it’s not the full story.

The real stuff? It’s days like yesterday.

It’s looking at your bank account and wondering how you’re going to make payroll. Realizing you missed a big mistake and have to own it. Working through conflict, making hard calls, and staying calm when everything in you wants to yell.

That’s the life. That’s the truth.

You Can’t Buy Grit

You can’t fake it either. It’s built in the hard moments. It’s built when the easy button breaks and you keep going anyway. It’s built when you want to run but decide to lead instead.

That’s what this week gave me. Not the fix I wanted, but the growth I needed.

So Where Are You?

Maybe you’re in a good season. That’s great. Enjoy it. Bank it. Use it to prep for what’s next.

Maybe you’re in the middle of the storm. You’re worn out. Tired of pretending. And your version of the easy button already failed.

Keep going.

Not because it’s fun. But because you’ll come out stronger. Sharper. Clearer.

And one day you’ll look back and say, “That sucked. But it shaped me.”

Final Thought

I didn’t want to write this. I wanted to say everything is fine and the systems worked like they were supposed to. But they didn’t.

And I’m thankful.

Because I got better. And the next time I face something like this, I won’t look for the easy button. I’ll get to work.

Because that’s what business owners do.