How I went from WORST YEAR EVER…. to a bulging business bank account. It’s time for our 2026 Mid-Year Recap: an honest behind-the-scenes of a true rollercoaster of a year.

And I'm doing after getting back from vacation literally last night. I’m jet-lagged, I’m teaching a live training tonight — and honestly? Not mad about any of it. Because I chose it. And that feels like the whole point of this episode.

What we get into:

(1:40) The 6-Month Recap — feeling like I finally had it figured out, then watching February completely unravel that story and my brain deciding everything was permanently broken
(7:27) The thing about "arriving" — after 10+ years, what I actually know now about business ownership, hedonic adaptation, and why you never really figure it out for good
(10:50) The Summit’s Unexpected Gift — watching other people get excited about building a calligraphy business brought me all the way back to why I started mine
(13:30) The lawyer dread vs. the jetlagged calligrapher — the comparison that still gets me every time

The takeaway isn't that it gets easier. It's that when it's yours, hard feels different.

(P.S. Free live training tonight 7/21 and tomorrow 7/22 — crookedcalligraphy.com/training. Doors open to the Pro Calligrapher Bundle through Tuesday 7/28.)

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