You're not crazy. Here's proof!

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Hey, Will here.

Let me be blunt…

81% of business builders hide their stress from everyone.

Not just investors. Not just employees. Their co-founders. Their spouses. Everyone.

That's straight from a study of 2,000+ entrepreneurs by Startup Snapshot.

Same study: average loneliness rating? 7.6 out of 10.

If you've ever Googled "is this normal" at 3 am — you're not crazy.

You're in the majority. You're just in the majority that doesn't talk about it.

Here's what nobody tells you:

The most successful builders aren't the ones who feel less doubt.

They're the ones who've found ways to process it — instead of pretending it doesn't exist.

The question isn't "how do I stop feeling this way?"

The question is: "What do I do with those 3 am thoughts?"

⏰ The 3 am Blues………

When doubt hits, most of us do one of four things.

1. We suppress it. Push it down, keep grinding, pretend we're fine. This works until it doesn't — until it shows up in your health, your relationships, or a decision you make when you're running on empty.

2. We spiral. Follow the thread into every worst-case scenario. By 4 am, you've mentally bankrupted the company, lost your house, and disappointed everyone who believed in you. None of it's real. But it feels real.

3. We're numb. Wine. Scrolling. Netflix. Anything to turn off the noise. The problem? The noise is still there in the morning. You just lost a night of sleep avoiding it.

4. Or — and this is rare — we process. Externalize it. Look at it. Ask: What's actually true here? What's fear and what's signal?

That last one costs about 15 minutes. The other three cost a lot more.

When doubt hits, most of us default to one of four responses:

The fourth option is rare because it requires a space to think out loud — without judgment, without scaring your team, without "looking weak."

Most builders don't have that space.

This is where AI becomes something different.

Not for cranking out emails faster. For thinking through the hard stuff when there's no one to call at 3 am.

I've been using Claude as a strategic thinking partner — not for answers, but for processing. It doesn't replace a therapist, a co-founder, or a real friend.

But it's there at 3 am. And it doesn't judge.

It forces clarity.

It asks the questions you'd ask yourself if you had the mental bandwidth at 3 am.

And here's what matters: It helps you think better — not just faster.

You can work through the messy middle of a decision without worrying about how it sounds. You can test half-baked ideas.

You can admit what you don't know.

Sometimes, that's exactly what you need to move forward.

⚡ AltLevel™ Power Prompt: 3 am Session

Just copy and paste them into your favorite AI tool; a little extra support can make a big difference!

Act as an experienced coach who helps entrepreneurs process mental noise without jumping to solutions.

Background: I’m a founder stuck in my head about something and need help thinking it through—not fixing it.

Here’s what’s weighing on me: [DESCRIBE THE WORRY]

My Question:
Ask me three sharp, clarifying questions that help me separate:
1. What is objectively true
2. What is uncertain
3. What is fear, projection, or assumption

If anything is unclear or you need more detail to guide me well, please ask for clarification.

📊 Quick “Gut Check”

And if you want to go deeper:

What's YOUR 3 am question right now? The one you haven't said out loud.

Hit reply. I read everyone. I'll share patterns (anonymously) next week.

— Will

P.S. Here's the stat that haunts me: 93% of founders say they'd do it all again — despite the loneliness, despite the doubt, despite the cost. We're not crazy for choosing this. We need better ways to carry it.

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