Happy Sunday,

If you're reading this, I hope you're having the best weekend of you’re life. And if you just got this, are relaxing and are going to wait until Monday to read it, I really can't blame you. I just got home from a long walk with my wife where we leave our phones at home for a few hours and walked in and felt compelled to get on the keys and send this out. I just had one of the best business weeks of my life and, honestly, I think it might have something to do with you

On Tuesday, The Founders Club just got ranked America’s 172nd fastest growing company for the Inc. 5000 list. A ridiculous honor and crazy accomplishment. Furthermore, it might be the first time a community has ever made this list which just speaks volumes to what we’re building and the quality of the product. So if you’re in the club, have shared a newsletter, have told your friends about what we’re building, or just smile when these hit your inbox, thank you. Seriously.

If INC wasn’t enough, I then had another full circle moment with my wife on Friday evening where we signed the new ten-year lease on her new Pilates studio in New York City. This one is different tho and hits home because its the exact part of town where I last got fired from a job and was the lowest moment of my life and professional career.

If you’re an entrepreneur or hell just a normal person with some kind of work ethic than we all have a few things that fire us up and keep us motivated. Maybe its the “I want to prove you wrong” emotion or prove the world type feeling, but I’ve had that edge for nearly 10 years since that terrible day. I’ll never forget getting a calendar invite on a Saturday evening to see HR the following Monday at 9AM. 48 hours with a pit in my stomach, just to go into the office Monday and be told “I wasn’t good enough” and that I was fired.

Te lowest moment of my life. The lowest point of my career. A moment I’ll never forget.

My stomach and heart feeling like they hit the ground. Knowing I had less than $1000 to my name, with no way to pay my rent or my student loans. My ex girlfriend has just left me. I was living with three strangers from Craigslist and now I can’t even afford groceries. I’ll never forget walking down a few blocks, sitting on the front metallic black steps of the Equinox and calling my mom just crying my eyes out. Feeling like the biggest failure. Filled with uncertainty and that I wasn’t good enough.

So yeah, I’ve kept that hunger for almost a decade now. Building businesses. Starting things that seem impossible. Creating sports. Creating communities. Creating categories. Doing things that seem like they should be impossible, all because of one asshole looked me in the face and said Chris you aren’t good enough.

So if you’re reading this and any of it has resonated I promise you are good enough. You are talented enough. You have the ability to do anything in this world.

Keep working. Keep trying. Keep showing up. All the excuses you want to make are just bullshit. Have a bad day? Go ahead, wake up and make the next day better. Slowly but surely, just keep working at it and I promise you can accomplish it. Everything is going to take much longer than you expected.

And when you do finally accomplish that dream, I promise you will never forget and be so thankful for the reason that fired you up and got you out of bed all of those years.

So Dustin Abanto from Contently if you’re reading this.

Thank you.

Chris Meade