Today is day two of a four week Business Forum I am participating in. Part of our lesson today talked about the Change Cycle, a four phase process that a new entrepreneur may go through during the early phases of a venture. This framework was presented to help us understand the full spectrum of emotions that a person goes through while trying to start a business, whatever kind of venture it may be. It seeks to explain why many entrepreneurs may be asking themselves… Why do I feel so flippin’ crazy?

It is comforting to hear that going through a genuine emotional roller-coaster is completely normal for entrepreneurial types (because some days I do feel flippin’ crazy). Cameron Herald, author of the BackPocket COO blog, writes in this blog post how many extremely successful entrepreneurs are even clinically diagnosed Manic Depressive or Bi-Polar (Bi-Polar Disorder is nicknamed, “The CEO Disease”).

Bill Gross, CEO of Idealab, was written up by a Fortune editor who apologized and said, “I believed him because I was dazzled by him. He had an infectious boyish enthusiasm that was charming and irresistible. He spoke so rapidly—jumping from topic to topic as if he were hyper-linking.  It was hard to keep up with him.  He had so much energy he seemed constantly on the verge of jumping out of his skin. He bubbled over with optimism.”

Apple CEO Steve Jobs has been described as “hypomanic” and “unable to think outside the box – because he doesn’t even see the box.  He’s also been described as quick to fly off the handle emotionally.

Cameron writes extensively on this topic and in this blog post outlines a checklist of personality traits often exhibited by  entrepreneurs:

• Are you filled with energy?
• Does your mind get flooded with ideas?Are you driven, restless, and unable to keep still?
• Do you often work on little sleep?
• Can you be euphoric?
• Do you easily get irritated by minor obstacles?

Sounds vaguely familiar. So what does this say about me? I think it may mean I have found my calling. It also means I need to be careful not to alienate my friends and family and work until I crash and burn. For real, I am adding life balance to my list of 10 things I hope to accomplish this year.

Cameron also did a guest post on Tim Ferriss’s blog in which he discusses how to Harness Entrepreneurial Manic-Depression and make it’s somewhat predictable cycle work for you. It is practical insight that I suggest any new entrepreneur read.

* Stage 1: The first stage of the concept is called “Uninformed Optimism”. At this stage on a rollercoaster, just getting to the top of the rollercoaster, you experience feelings of an adrenalin rush, characterized by excitement and nervous energy.

* Stage 2: The second stage is called “Informed Pessimism”. As you ride over the top of the curve you now have a bit more information. Feelings of fear, nervousness, and frustration begin to set in. Perhaps you even want to get off of it.

* Stage 3 – The third stage is called “Crisis of Meaning”. You’re past scared. You feel despair. It’s as if you’re standing on the edge of a cliff ready to jump, and you begin to think “Today the rollercoaster’s going off the bottom of the track for the very first time.” You feel helpless and you’re both terrified and frozen.

* At this point, you face a critical juncture. You can come off the bottom of the curve and crash and burn, which is when your business goes bankrupt, you lose your marriage, you start drinking, or you end up in a doctor’s office because of stress. Or you can come around the corner because you’re getting support at “Crisis of Meaning” and you can enter an upward swing call “Informed Optimism”.

* Stage 4 – Informed Optimism. You’re calm. You’re informed. You might even say you are cautiously optimistic.

I would put myself still in Stage 1. I am fully aware of what lies ahead of me. It is going to be a test of emotional stamina, but I think I can take what comes to me. Good thing I am not your average worker bee.

I am preparing though and will beat this emotional roller-coaster with excessive amounts of yoga, triathlon endurance training and salsa dancing. “Mens sana in corpore sano” is Latin for “a healthy mind in a healthy body”

I am also excited to be participating in the Business Forum. I think the community of like-minded people will really help me get through the next weeks as I try to get this thing off the ground. Thanks to you all in advance!