The Name of the Game (Vol. 1 & 2)

Opening a used bookstore: March 2026—Lease negotiations fall apart. The landlord walks. Stef faces her third rejection. Volume 1 captures the collapse; Volume 2 processes the grief, the exhaustion, and the stubborn belief that she has to let the right opportunity come to her now. (Apologies for road noise in Vol. 1 and caution lights in Vol. 2—I recorded this while processing in real time.) Volume 1: Lease negotiations have become unpredictable, weird, and unreasonable. I get into the nitty-gritty—the back and forth, the bizarre terms, the growing sense that this isn't going to work. And then it doesn't. The landlord walks away from the table. This is the third time I've been burned, and I'm so dissapointed. Volume 2: I sleep on it and come back with some perspective. Suffering makes the good times better—contrast is necessary for light to shine. I get that. But I'm so tired of being resilient. I'm also grateful for the pressure cooker that happens every time I'm about to sign a lease. The ideas I get in those moments—I wouldn't get them otherwise. The clarity, the pivots, the problem-solving—it only comes under pressure. I have the support. I have the community. I know what I need to do, and I can do it. I just need to let it come to me now. I'm disappointed. I'm sad. But I'm still here. Current Book Count: ~11,000+ The name of the game is resilience. Even when you're tired of playing.  🐦‍🔥 Follow along as The Phoenix Used Bookshop continues to rise—subscribe to A Bookshop of My Own and get updates at phoenixusedbookshop.com.