Travel Chaos to Startup Wisdom: A Midnight Bus Story

One chartered bus. 50 seats. 200+ stranded passengers fighting for spots.

11 PM. Tallahassee airport with my three exhausted daughters (9, 9, and 5).

Our options after a day from hell (2+ hour delays, 3 airports, maintenance issues):

Option A: Airport floor until tomorrow's flight Option B: Fight for seats on that midnight bus to Atlanta Option C: Hotel beds and morning rental car

Everyone rushed the bus. I walked outside to call an Uber.

Because sometimes the best decision isn't pushing through - it's knowing when to rest.

Next morning: 5-hour drive home. Smooth. Rested. In control.

Two hours later, my daughter broke her wrist doing gymnastics stunts. Now she's sporting a lime green cast.

One thought hit me:

What if we'd taken that bus? Running on fumes, making foggy decisions, handling her emergency on zero sleep?

Instead, I was present. Clear. Ready.

Now every time I see that lime green cast, I'm reminded: Control what you can. Let the chaos sort itself.

This is exactly how I approach chaos at LanguaTalk:

Last week: Langua went dark. Servers down, users locked out, support tickets flooding in.

Instead of panic mode, I asked: "What's the ONE thing I can control right now?"

Fixed the server first. Everything else fell into place.

The founders who survive aren't the ones who control everything. They're the ones who know what to control.

That lime green cast comes off in 6 weeks.

But the lesson about controlling what matters?

That's the difference between founders who drown and founders who thrive.

What chaos are you trying to control that you should just let sort itself out?

Originally posted on LinkedIn on July 29, 2025