Reaching Your Destination

My morning commute requires me to drive across a 24-mile bridge over Lake Pontchartrain. On a clear day, I can see the skyline of New Orleans sitting on the horizon, roughly thirty miles out.

I know without a shadow of a doubt that if I just keep my hands on the wheel and maintain my lane, I’ll hit the south shore. Naturally, as entrepreneurs do, I start comparing this 24-mile stretch of concrete to building an online business (tell me I’m not the only one whose brain works like this 😂).

The Path

The beauty of the Causeway is that the road is already paved. You don't have to invent a way across the water. The engineers already did the heavy lifting. All you have to do is drive it.

The bridge has clear mile markers telling you exactly where you stand and how far you have left to go. If you do the math, 24 miles at the posted 65 mph limit, you're looking at around 22 minutes of steady work.

Online business is no different. The blueprints, frameworks, and training are already laid out in front of us. The road exists. The only variable is whether you stay on the gas or pull over.

The Clock (and Your Impatience)

The math says 22 minutes, but your clock doesn’t care about perfect conditions.

When you're ten miles out over open water with nothing but concrete ahead, three minutes can feel like three hours. That’s when the itch to speed, tailgate, or make erratic moves kicks in, even though flooring the gas pedal might only save you thirty seconds while vastly increasing your risk of wiping out.

In this business, we often measure progress against an imaginary stopwatch.

We want the 6-month result in 6 weeks.

But compressing time isn't about rushing the work, it's about eliminating the friction of second-guessing. Consistent speed beats reckless acceleration every single time. Trust the timer, log the miles, and let the clock do its job.

The Vehicle

Does the vehicle you’re driving matter? Sure, to an extent.

I drive a full-size truck. It’s built like a tank, but maneuverability in tight spots isn't its strong suit. A compact car might dart through a gap and save two minutes, but at the end of a 24-mile span, both vehicles cross the finish line within seconds of each other.

Your "vehicle" online is your tech stack: your theme, your plugins, your shiny new tools. Some people obsess over finding the Ferrari of software before they even back out of the driveway. But comfort and flashy features won’t drive the road for you. Pick a reliable rig, put it in gear, and run with it.

The Traffic (and the Fog)

Here’s where reality sets in.

Some mornings, the bridge is wide open. You set the cruise control and breeze right through. Other mornings, thick fog rolls off the lake until you can’t see ten feet past your hood ornament. Or someone taps a bumper at mile 12, and both lanes grind to a dead halt.

When you're stuck in traffic suspended over open water, panic doesn't move the needle. Changing lanes every thirty seconds won't clear the jam.

When algorithm updates shift, rankings stall, or life throws a wrench in your schedule, that's just bridge traffic. You don't abandon the car, you tap the brakes, stay alert, and creep forward until the road opens up again.

The Detours & Alternate Routes

Here’s the other truth: the Causeway isn’t the only way into the city.

Sometimes an accident shuts the whole span down. Sometimes severe weather rolls in, or road construction forces you to pivot. When that happens, you don't cancel the trip. You swing around the lake via I-10 through Slidell and take the twin spans(a short 5.5 mile bridge).

Other times, you choose an alternate route simply because you need a fresh perspective and a change of scenery.

Online business gives you the exact same flexibility. If one traffic channel hits a wall, say organic search slows down, you don't throw your hands up and quit. You pivot to email marketing, test YouTube, or lean into direct community engagement on socials. The path might wind a bit more, and the mileage might vary, but the destination hasn't gone anywhere.

Eyes on the Skyline

Whether the crossing takes 22 minutes or an hour detour through unfamiliar back roads, the target stays locked. New Orleans is still sitting on the other side of that water, waiting for you to pull in.

Keep your eyes on the skyline, trust the road underneath your tires, and just keep moving forward.

I think about this every morning on the way to work.

Even though I wrote this to share with the WA community, it’s an encouraging word for myself too. Sometimes you just have to get it out of your head. Building an online business has been a whirlwind over the last 2 years, to the point of almost quitting several times. I, like most of you here, need a little encouragement from time to time.

Thanks for taking the time to read,

Steve