Invincible to Invisible
Objective & Focus: share entrepreneur story, suggestions to overcome hard mental challenges
Your business is flourishing. Your revenue is booming. You’re being asked to speak on podcasts and at conferences. You’ve become a respected thought leader. You feel like you’re on top of the world—invincible.
Then, all of a sudden, your company takes a turn—a downturn. Your largest client blindsides you, leaving your business in financial turmoil. Before you know it, you’re spiraling out of control, and nothing you try seems to stop the bleeding. First, you try to solve the problem on your own, not wanting anyone to know. Then you confide in trusted team members, legal counsel, peers, and mentors. Maybe you even risk opening up to one of your investors. Yet no matter what you do, you hit roadblocks at every turn. After experiencing the highs of success, your worst fear is about to come true—you’ve "failed." No more speaking engagements. No more investors. After much consternation and deliberation, you finally accept there’s nothing more you can do. You feel like you’ve become irrelevant, rendered invisible.
Isn’t it crazy how fast entrepreneurs can go from feeling energized, confident, and worthy to feeling ashamed, embarrassed, and hopeless? You find yourself asking, “How did I get here?” as feelings of inadequacy consume you. The thought plays on loop: What do I even have to offer anymore?
So now what? Where do you go from here? It feels nearly impossible to find light in the darkness. For now, it feels like the only option is to curl up in bed, under warm sheets with fluffy pillows, and stay there, invisible. While hiding in the dark, you ruminate on how those relentless 18-hour days, seven days a week—filled with blood, sweat, and tears—took a toll on your relationships, your physical health, and your mental well-being. Even more painfully, your passion and purpose, the very core of why you started, seem to have slipped away. You ask yourself, “Will I ever find a new passion again?”
I speak from experience when I say all this because this was my reality for a long time. Three years later, I still question how I ended up here. For over a year, I struggled to get out of bed. I wanted to escape. I wanted to be invisible. Life is just too hard became the phrase stuck on repeat in my head.
However, another thought kept me going—the idea of pushing through for the people who mattered most: my parents and now-husband. I didn’t want them to see me suffer because I knew they would suffer too. And I couldn’t bear the thought of hurting them by giving up completely. So, I made a decision to figure out how to reclaim my life and get back to the old Tina.
Here are a few things that helped—and continue to help—me:
Allowed myself to grieve: I let myself feel the emotions fully. (Not that I really had a choice. I couldn’t stop them even if I tried. I’m terrible at masking my real emotions and feelings.)
Practice gratitude: No matter how small. I set a daily reminder on my phone at 1:00 p.m. to reflect on at least one thing I’m grateful for that day.
Look for silver linings: What is this experience teaching me? How can I grow from it and apply those lessons to my future?
Release resistance: I stopped making it harder on myself by fighting the things I couldn’t control. I accepted my reality to make space for clarity, healing, and new opportunities.
Trust the process: Even when the reason isn’t clear, I tried to remind myself that everything happens for a reason.
Be intentional: I spend time reflecting on my values, priorities, and goals. I plan my days, weeks, and months with these in mind.
Seek professional help: I found a therapist and psychiatrist.
Spend time with furry friends: No medicine is better than a furry friend, some exercise and being outside.
Stay active: Running and yoga sculpt classes gave me more energy and renewed interest in life. (To be fully transparent, medication helped me find the motivation to get started.)
Explore a new hobby: I was never really one for arts and crafts, but in the throes of my depression, I found myself wanting to be creative. This creative spark gave me the opportunity to figure out something new, strategize, and overcome a challenge. It gave me a purpose, if only for a short while. It also took my mind off my problems. Then once I figured out how to paint confetti pumpkins or design floral arrangements, I felt good about myself for accomplishing something new.
Build a spiritual connection: Getting to know God (or another higher power) can provide peace, understanding, and patience.
Focus on energy: The law of attraction taught me that positivity attracts positivity.
Reconnect with loved ones: I plan more time with family and friends. Having something to look forward to can make all the difference.
Stay open to new passions: You never know when a new opportunity or idea will spark joy again.
At the end of the day, we never know what life has in store for us. One minute we’re invincible, on top of the world. The next we’re knocked down and feeling invisible. Having experienced both, I believe that what truly makes us invincible is overcoming the feeling of being invisible.
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Hang on Health, a Nashville, TN nonprofit, empowers entrepreneurs with mental resilience. By supporting entrepreneurs with mental wellness resources such as education, community and coaching, they are emboldened to achieve peak performance.
