In the early days it was The Ed Mylett Show Ed Mylett. A podcast that kept me going through tears and 5am drives to the gym. I survived most of my days and the years to come because I heard his voice in my head on repeat, along with the hardship he faced and the hardship of everyone he brought into his studio. And yes, I never spoke to anyone about what I was going through either. I acted like my world was in tip top shape when it was in fact a carnival that had taken a wrong turn.

It’s insane to me that we glorify the photo at the summit, whatever peak you set out to climb, and never talk about the lead up. We don’t even think to take pictures of it. Why? Because those images are gruesome. Not pretty. Not shiny in any aspect. Doesn’t Hollywood make bank on movies that are all guts, with the glory saved for the end?

And the climb is doing real damage. Sifted surveyed founders in 2025 and found that more than half had burned out in the past year. Two thirds had considered walking away from the company entirely.

My point is this. It’s crazy that I sit in a seat as a marketing strategist of over 23 years and spend my time convincing founders to stay on track. You’ve got this. Keep moving. And it happens more often than not. I’ve been on Zooms where clients have thrown things across the room. Stood up and yelled. Walked away from the call and come back mere minutes later. Maybe they took a sanity walk around the block, who knows. I’ve seen it all. I’ve seen the characteristics of people fighting their own battles mentally, and I can clearly see what needs to happen for them to push past their barriers and break through walls that seem simple from the outside but on the uphill trek feel like you’ll never make it.

So I keep asking. When did marketing actually become therapy? Has it always been? Are we always digging into the middle of why are you doing what you’re doing, and why should the marketing even care?

I remember working with a client who brought me in to update their entire brand system and how they put themselves out there after 15 years. I spent almost two months digging in, running stakeholder interviews, structuring the build. Then I presented, and got yelled at by the co-founder, the wife in the pair, who told me I had no right to share what I was sharing, that after less than a year with them I had no business suggesting we touch their brand.

But ma’am, you hired me to do this exact job you’re yelling at me for.

Also, major trauma healing needed there.

As marketers, I’m telling you, we walk through battlefields and collect wounds. I don’t know how we survive it. Diplomatic on the outside, yes, in so many ways. Quietly stabilizing our own nervous systems after the last call.

I often wonder if entrepreneurs are a certain breed psychologically. We step out on our own because something in us already wants more out of life, so maybe unconsciously we’re also looking to uncover why we can’t sit still on the safer track. The most successful people fail so many times. But they get back up. So what is it about us and this thick skin? I’m still asking myself why I ever veered off the yellow brick road and away from the golden shackles.