One night, a few months after we had decided to commit ourselves to Holstee full-time, Mike and I were working extra late in our shared office space in New York.
At that time, Holstee’s focus was on our original product — a t-shirt with a holster-positioned pocket (hence our name: “Hols-tee”). On this particular evening, we were rather stressed, trying to figure out the logistics of producing a sustainable t-shirt in the U.S.
It was one of those trying nights when I was asking myself if starting this company was worth all the stress. Yes, the extreme highs were thrilling, but the lows were real and deeper than I had anticipated.
My conversation with Mike that night led to an observation that I revisit to this day.
Sometimes in life, we’re on a merry-go-round and sometimes we’re on a rollercoaster. Either way, we can be grateful for the ride.
The merry-go-round offers safety, space to reflect, and reliability. The rollercoaster offers excitement, suspense, and takes us out of our comfort zone. We’ve experienced both, sometimes by choice and other times not.
When we were starting our company, I preferred the rollercoaster experience. Now, many years later, I am grateful for the thrill of the highs and the chance to grow from those lows. I better understand that each has its time and place.
Whichever “ride” we are on, Mike and I try to remember it is up to us to appreciate and make the most of the experience.
To finding joy in every ride,
Dave Radparvar
Co-Founder, Holstee & Reflection.app
P.S. Taking a moment to reflect is one of the best ways to appreciate the ride you are on. Reflection.app is a free journaling app we built that guides your growth each month — try it on Web, iOS, and Android! place to start.
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Living with intention is an ongoing practice, not a destination. Inspired by this, we’ve created a range of products to help you on your journey to live both fully and mindfully, including the Holstee Membership, Reflection Cards, and our recently-launched Reflection.app.
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This article is part of our series on the theme of Welcome.
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