Aggressively Human: Online Business in the Age of AI, Algorithms & Automations Is it burnout or boredom?
Every business owner hits that point where the thing that used to light them up now feels like a slog — and it usually happens right when the work matters most. Whether it’s February fatigue, launch number seven, or the creeping suspicion that you’ve said everything you have to say, the impulse to burn it down and start fresh is real. But is it burnout, boredom, or just a season?
In this episode, we talk about the difference between being tired of something in your business and being done with it. We dig into the natural cycles of building — preparing, planting, harvesting, and resting — and why the reinforcement phase (the one that actually creates momentum) is the hardest to stay motivated through. Jessica shares what it’s like to be in the “hardening the cement” stage while wanting to chase something new, and Meg talks about her experience running Social Slowdown for 100 episodes and knowing when it was time to hand off the torch.
This isn’t a pep talk about pushing through or a permission slip to quit. It’s a conversation about learning to read the signals your energy is sending you.
* Why the repetition phase of your business feels boring but is where the real traction happens
* The seasonal cycles of energy and creativity (and why Meg doesn’t launch anything in February)
* Jessica’s harvest-to-reinforcement arc — and the tension between solidifying old work and chasing new ideas
* The green light / yellow light / red light framework for deciding when to push, pause, or stop
* Why your audience hears your message differently every time, even when you’re saying the same thing
* How Meg knew it was time to retire Social Slowdown after 100 episodes and a book
* The difference between reinforcing, repurposing, remixing, and just regurgitating your content
* What to do when you still need to market but have nothing new to say
* Why your best referral partners being in the same slump at the same time is a real business risk
How relationships and referral networks carry your message when you can’t
"Reinforcing is going back in and putting more infrastructure in place to make it stronger. Repurposing is, or rehashing for that example is taking the same information and pushing it out in a different place. Remixing could be finding new ways to explain something." — Meg
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