​If you're an entrepreneur and working on a startup, the feel of sand beneath your feet is something you may have experienced somewhere in a galaxy far away, a long, long time ago. 

You're probably spending countless hours in a coworking space, bedroom or garage [aka Steve Jobs and co] investigating consumer behaviour, developing minimum viable product [MVP] and conducting Beta testing.

You need to freeze time and stand still. You need a breather or at least a conversation with a friend to help release the pressure valve - and you need to do it now before it's too late.

Worse still, if you're hiding from issues you're not addressing, the intense nature of working on a startup may further exacerbate any underlying challenge. Hiding behind your workload is fraught with danger.

1 in 3 entrepreneurs experience depression according to a study conducted by Dr Michael Freeman, professor at San Francisco's University of California.

It's a high number which may have a lot to do with the level of self-expectation entrepreneurs place on themselves, Make no mistake, the pressures are real - they're called funding and time. 

Speaking to a retail tech founder in Melbourne recently, the pressure was evident. "Time is my enemy," he said. "Cash flow is the other." He continued to describe the reality of needing more time to further refine tech he has already invested four years in developing. "Refining the tech will help scale the project. But without the funds or more investment, the startup faces shutdown," he said.

With Series A funds fast running out, it's a race against time for this founder and many others in the same situation.

"The bigger the gap between where you are and your expectations of where you should be, the higher the stress," the Founder of 7 Cups of Tea Glen Moriarity told The Hustle's Breena Kerr in an interview last year.

Every founder has expectations of where their startup should be 3, 6 and 12 months down the track. These are milestone dates that represent progress. Not achieving critical pathways, combined with countless other pressures can have a negative psychological impact.

A couple of years ago during one of the craziest times in my life I was multitasking to the max. I was working full time, developing a startup, running a coworking space and engaged in the full swing of an election campaign.

I didn't realise I was on an unhealthy trajectory because my busy-ness hid it.

It was my wife who first noticed I wasn't having any downtime. It was go, go, go. "You're not giving your body or mind a chance to recover from the big days you're having," Chrystal said.

"I'm fine," was my response. "No, you're not," was hers. Always quick at comebacks.

It was a Saturday morning when we had this conversation and I was in the study working between my laptop, phone and writing in my notebook.

"We're going to the beach," she declared. "The kids and I ready and we're waiting for you in the car."

We had numerous similar conversations in the preceding weeks and I always managed to justify my actions or placate the situation.

This time, I wasn't given much choice, I had to walk away from the work that consumed me and ready myself for the beach.

It was the tail end of spring and the weather was super mild. The boys and Chrystal kicked off their shoes and ran towards the water as soon as we arrived.

I couldn't keep up. I sat down and just watched them running and jumping with such energy and exuberance. The joy. The laughing. That's when I realised. She was right. I hadn't been looking after myself. Although I may not have been clinically depressed, I had become withdrawn, joyless and all consumed.

Here I was, watching my family be in the moment and I was so physically exhausted, I didn't have the energy to interact. All I could do was sit by the sidelines and watch.

I needed to step away to gain perspective and I needed somebody to help me do it. Sitting on the beach I realised how I isolated I had become and the precarious road I was travelling.

That's when I snapped the photo above. It wasn't posed - just a moment captured. This one photo that may have saved my life. A photo that captures an important lesson. A reminder to freeze time and stand still. A reminder to have a conversation when I'm feeling overwhelmed and do the same to my friends and colleagues around me.

We should never be too busy to get sand on our feet, go for a swim or just have an open conversation over coffee about how we feel. We should never create a situation where we become slaves to our startup - that's not healthy for anyone.

Need to talk?

Beyond Blue
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www.beyondblue.org.au

​Life is about experiences. Doing stuff, seeing places and meeting people. This is what enriches and deepens who we are. It feeds the soul and adds layers to our being.

If you're working on a startup, you know how intense the journey can be. Making time to stop and breathe is paramount. Your ability to do this, particularly during crisis mode, can actually dictate whether or not your startup flies or flounders.

It takes great personal discipline to be able to walk away and take time out but we need to do this regularly - all of us. Removing yourself from the business, helps shift your perception on issues you've been dealing with at the frontline but more importantly, you also create an opportunity for adventure.

On one of my trips to the US in 2016, I found myself with the unexpected luxury of a free day. I knew instantly, it was time to tick an item off the bucket list.

I was in San Francisco in the great state of California, a land blessed with so many amazing natural wonders to explore. On top of my list was Yosemite National Park. I made arrangements, booked and paid for tickets and eagerly awaited the early morning bus.

Initially, during the bus trip, I was feverishly making notes regarding a startup concept I was playing with. For the most part of almost two hours it was head down transfixed by this latest concept. I was oblivious to the geological wonderland we were navigating through.

It was the excited tones of all the other travellers that got my attention. I put my pen down and looked up from my notebook. I was instantly transfixed by the landscape around me.

I realised I hadn't been in the moment. I hadn't given myself the time I needed to just lose my thoughts in the surrounds. This was a bucket list dream and here I was missing it. I packed my pen and notebook away and immersed myself in the surrounds.

When we arrived at Yosemite, the driver informed us we had five hours to go exploring. His instructions were clear - 'stick to the main tracks, go wandering but not too far out and watch out for bears'.

The giant granite cliffs and waterfalls were spectacular to say the least. A world away from the tech and startups that consume my day, I was now being inspired by the enormous sequoia groves and the lush forrest.

Also, as a Steve Jobs fanboy and knowing how much he loved this place [the reason why it's a wallpaper on Apple comps] I could clearly see the inspiration that drove his contemplated design.

In a place as beautiful as this and with a renewed sense of adventure, it was hard to stick on a main track. I went wandering and wander I did.

Off track, deeper into the park, through the valley and now on my own. It was some time into my adventure, I realised there was no one else around me. I could no longer hear any other tourists or see any happy campers. I had lost all sense of time [and navigation].

I was lost at Yosemite. Trying to think rationally, I tried to follow my tracks back to the starting point but they had all but disappeared - absorbed back into mother nature's fold.

My heart now pounding, my head in a spin, feeling hot and somewhat fearful, I knew I had to do something. 

I chose to stop. Focus on the silence and take in the surrounds. Deep breathe. Silence. I meditated. I could almost feel the heartbeat of Yosemite. I was connected. 

Freaking out and getting lost at Yosemite helped me find myself. It was at the point I realised yet again the extent of the frenetic and reactive lives we live. In the fast paced and ever changing landscape we coexist in it's more important than ever to stop and be in the moment - take it all in - no matter what the situation. Good or bad - take it in. Understand it, appreciate it and be responsive.

Lost, yet feeling strangely comforted, I knew I only had a small window of time to find my way back before the bus returned to San Fran.

With a total sense of calm and knowing, I started walking. Listening to my instincts, I continued my journey down a new path. I walked for some time before I finally, through the trees, caught a glimpse of Half Dome and it looked spectacular [I took the picture above to always remember this moment]. 

I knew where I was. Before not too long, I could hear the conversations of other travellers as I navigated through the camp sites again.

I found my way. I found myself.

The experience reminded me to create opportunity for adventure and always plan to realise dreams.

When the dream becomes a reality, be in the moment and take it all in - because when the moment is gone, it's gone and you'd hate to miss it.

Also, when the going gets tough - stop, breathe and work towards responding rather than reacting - it makes the world of difference.

​Finally, use the Force and always trust your instincts.

Just start your startup and don't over think it. This is why.

I've had the Anchor app on my iPhone for 6 months. Anchor is radio reinvented - an innovative podcast app which enables you to easily record anything and share it immediately. I made 30 attempts to record an Anchor intro and each time I was more dissatisfied than the last. Striving for perfection and never satisfied with the content and style of my recording - I only have myself to blame for not launching yet. I'm so self critical.

This self inflicted social pressure to present a perfect version of me combined with an irrational fear of failure can be crippling. Don't let the perfection curse get you. Word to Shia LaBeouf who implores us to 'just do it' - it doesn't need to be perfect and that's totally ok.

That's the beauty of startups. By nature, startups are a journey of discovery. An opportunity to identify a market gap and develop a viable solution. This means that during a process of truly understanding the opportunity, we fine-tune the answer. If we don't, we pivot. Chasing perfection is not the objective. After all, a startup is about exploration and like any journey there are highs and lows.

This is where we have a lot to learn. Startups and entrepreneurs in the US generally embrace failure as a learning. If anything, our American counterparts wear the learnings of a failed startup as a badge of honour. In Australia, it's a different story. Gripped by a fear of failure we sometimes fail to start and that's a problem.

How many ideas have you shared with friends who have quickly denounced them or deemed them as impossible to achieve?  How many times have you stumbled on a concept and never explored it because a cloud of negativity or fear of failure kicks in? How many times have you wanted to launch a startup but in the process of striving for perfect execution, you fail to start?

We've all done this. We've overwhelmed ourselves with the pressure of 'getting right'. We've freaked out because we're afraid to fail. The result? Our ideas fall by the wayside as unrealised potential and our 30,000 days fly by.

Don't let this be you and don't be cursed by a fear of failure or gripped by perfection paralysis. What matters most is authenticity. Just be you, be fair dinkum and give it a go. ​

We live in disruptive times in which we can do anything with the amazing tech that sits in the palm of our hands - so, what are we waiting for? Relinquish fears and preconceived notions of perfect execution and [thank you again Shia + Nike] 'just do it'.

As for Anchor, stay tuned, we're hitting the airwaves soon.