Act Today
I spend an unhealthy amount of time thinking of the future, envisioning the life I desire. But I've realized: the present is far more important than what was or will be. No human can alter time, so learn from the past, and let your decisions from TODAY shape the future.
Your relationships, health, and career will be far more affected by decisions you take today than by anything in the past. Don't act in regard to the past or future. Act in regard to today, in calibration to the future you're designing and patterns you've learned. Otherwise, you're just "being busy," not "building."
Divine Burnout
To burn out trying to become something greater is divine. To fade safely as someone you never were is a tragedy.
The Founder's Loop
The emotional waveform every real founder rides:
I'm going to change the world → I can't even get out of bed → Everyone else is ahead of me → I'm a fraud → Wait... what if this works? → Back to #1
That loop never ends. You just get better at surfing it. Feeling lost and questioning yourself isn't a bug. It's the cost of playing the founder game. Anyone who doesn't feel insane a few times a week is playing too small.
Hold Them Accountable
You will lose old friends, not because you're too busy, but because they no longer understand the game you're playing.
Hold your friends accountable. Don't let their potential die inside them. Remember, the wheel is round.
Obsession and Sacrifice
Founding a startup is the combination of obsession and sacrifice. You work 7 days a week, fueled only by vision and faith.
I recently read that a bored mind is like an opened door for the devil, and I couldn't agree more. What I've come to realize is that I'm happier the more I work. Humans need challenge. We were built to think, build, solve.
If you have a dream but you're not willing to work on it or fix your systems, you're just disappointing yourself daily. A focused life is not a better life, but the only life one with big aspirations should live.
If you've worked 10-hour days and felt an overwhelming sense of accomplishment at the end, you're doing it right. Keep building.
Stay Foolish
Experience is often just a collection of reasons why something won't work.
The world belongs to those who don't know their limits. Once you learn "how things are done," you stop inventing how they could be done. Stay foolish. It pays better.