THINKDROP 26: Focusing on the End of the Tunnel
- Pierre Stanghellini
- Dec 3, 2025
- 4 min read
>Even If You Don’t See the Light !
🎤 From Me to You
No one warns you how quiet it gets in the middle.
You start with fire. You’ve got a vision, maybe a deck, a roadmap, a friend hyping you up.
And then? Nothing. No wins, no dopamine, just slow motion grind. The tunnel.
It’s not burnout. It’s not giving up. It’s something harder to name: the long gray stretch where you can’t tell if you’re lost or just early — the part where most people quietly eject.
We romanticize the start.
We idolize the finish.
But this part—the boring, brutal, in-between—is where most founders quit.
Not because they failed. But because they couldn’t see enough proof to keep going.
Here’s the paradox: The tunnel feels like a lack of progress, but it’s actually the price of progress.
It’s where your ideas are pressure-tested.
Where your self-belief gets cracked open.
Where you learn if you’re in love with the vision or just the vibes.
But the ones who make it?
They learn how to walk without seeing the light.
Let's dig in!
Pierre Stanghellini -
HARi.wtf founder
1. Motion Over Momentum
Momentum is sexy. Motion is survival.
Momentum means press coverage, big hires, cash in the bank.
But when you’re in the tunnel, you rarely get those hits.
What you can control? Movement.
Every day. Tiny gains, invisible to outsiders, but foundational.
You don’t need wind at your back. You need legs.
Most exits are built on thousands of small, silent steps.
Try This: Create a daily minimum commitment. One task you do no matter what. Doesn’t have to be big—just forward. Progress lives in patterns.
2. Build Belief Structures
You won’t always feel it. Don’t count on motivation.
Founders who make it aren’t always fired up. They just know where to borrow belief when theirs runs out. Sometimes from a past win, a mentor, a journal entry from version 1.0. Sometimes it’s just a walk and a playlist that hits right.
Resilience isn’t about hype—it’s about remembering what still matters when the hype is gone.
Try This: Write a "letter from your past self." Why did you start? What did you believe then? Stick it on your wall for the days you forget.
3. Vision > Visibility
Don’t wait for external proof.
Visibility is market signals, KPIs, and investor nods. Vision is your internal compass.
The tunnel strips away visibility. If you don’t have a vision?
You’re just pacing in the dark. Your clarity has to outlast the noise.
Try This: Re-articulate your vision in 1–2 sentences.
Not a pitch. A direction. Make it so clear you’d follow it even blindfolded.
4. The Tunnel is the Test
This isn’t the punishment. It’s the proving ground.
The tunnel filters out the dabblers, the noise-chasers, the startup tourists.
If you’re still here, still pushing, that’s not failure—that’s filtration.
You’re being forged.
If you can thrive here, you can thrive anywhere.
Try This: Make a "Tunnel Resume" — list the skills, grit, and insights you’ve built in this stretch. Proof that this isn’t wasted time. It’s your real training arc.
5. Ship Small, Stay Stubborn
When you can’t see the exit, focus on the next 100 feet.
Breakthroughs are born from disciplined monotony.
Stack small wins. Stay boring. Stay moving.
If you can’t be inspired, be consistent.
That’s what keeps you in the game long enough for the light to find you.
Big outcomes are often hidden in small, stubborn repetitions.
Try This: Set a weekly "Micro Ship Goal"—something useful that goes live every week. Tiny features, updates, emails. Proof of motion.
Quick Recap
Motion > Momentum — Don’t wait for the wind. Walk daily.
Borrow Belief — You won’t always feel it. Have backups.
Vision Over Visibility — Navigate with your compass, not the map.
Tunnel = Training — This is where resilience is built.
Small Ships Win Wars — Make consistent progress undeniable.
Final Drop: The Light Was Never the Goal. The Work Is.
Everyone talks about the light at the end of the tunnel.
But founders who last?
They learn to love the tunnel.
Not because it’s pleasant. But because it’s true.
The tunnel strips away your illusions. It doesn’t care about hype. It only cares about motion.
To survive it, you have to develop a new kind of faith—not in outcomes, but in yourself.
That your direction is still good.
That your pace is enough.
That your work matters even if no one sees it.
Eventually, the light does show up.
But by then, you realize: You didn’t need the light. You just needed the discipline to keep moving.
The tunnel isn’t a detour. It’s the road.
And if you’re still walking, you’re already proving you’re built for the long game.
Let's keep walking!
Pierre Stanghellini
→ Let’s connect, drop me a line directly at pierre@hari.wtf .
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About the Creator
Pierre Stanghellini is a creative strategist, systems thinker, and curator of mental rabbit holes. He created Thinkdrop Weekly to feed the brains that don’t want the same old Business advice. If you’re building something bold, beautiful, or strange—this is your corner of the internet.
About HARi.wtf
HARi.wtf is a creative strategy studio for businesses that hate business-as-usual.
Born in Hong Kong, in 2017, we work with restless founders, operators, and teams who’d rather break things thoughtfully than grow them blandly. We don’t do generic decks or bloated strategies—we build clarity, guts, and traction.
From street-level restaurants to global brands, from Asia to Europe, we help shape ideas that move fast when it matters, and slow when it counts.
→ Explore more at hari.wtf
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