I’m The Real Jason Duncan, back with another Beyond the Grind post – helping entrepreneurs like you build thriving businesses without sacrificing your freedom. 🚀

At one point, I should’ve been wrapping up the Colorado BDR (Backcountry Discovery Route) – a 750+ mile off-road motorcycle journey across some of the most rugged terrain in the Rockies.

We were likely packing up the bikes and getting ready for the long 1,350-mile drive back home.

And while I didn’t know exactly how the ride would go, I could tell you this:

There’s always a day when you want to quit.

The Day It All Feels Like Too Much

I’ve done rides like this before. And no matter how excited you are at the start… somewhere in the middle, the wheels fall off emotionally.

Not literally (hopefully). But mentally? Physically? Interpersonally?

You hit your limit.

A few years ago, I was on a cross-country ride with a different group of friends. We were all on big Harley touring bikes, eating up hundreds of miles each day. One afternoon on our way back towards Nashville, we stopped for dinner in Dodge City, Kansas.

It was over 100 degrees.
We’d already ridden 450+ miles.
Tempers were high. Everyone was hot, tired, irritable.

We were mad at each other for no reason. Ready to get a rental car or hop a flight and just go home.

But we didn’t.
We pushed through. We kept riding.

And the next morning?
We were back to laughing, enjoying the scenery, and remembering why we came in the first place.

That’s the lesson.

Every founder has a Dodge City moment.

It’s the moment where the stress outpaces the joy.
Where you feel like walking away.
Where quitting feels smarter than continuing.

But that’s not the time to quit.

That’s the time to rest, reset, rehydrate… and ride again tomorrow.

The Business Parallel

Entrepreneurship isn’t just vision and planning.

It’s friction.

Even when you’re doing the right things, the road can wear you down. You hit walls. You get misunderstood. You lose a deal you thought was locked in. You doubt yourself.

And in that moment, quitting sounds like relief.

But what if it’s just Dodge City?

What if you’re one night away from a breakthrough?

What if the business isn’t the problem – your margin is?

You don’t need to throw it all away.

You might just need to cool off, sleep, and remember why you started.

Words of Wisdom

"Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up." – Galatians 6:9

The trail gets hard. The ride gets long.

But the ones who finish are the ones who kept going when others tapped out.

Go beyond the grind,
The Real Jason Duncan 🚀