Mindset and Motivation: Startup Style
Q: Why are the right mindset and motivation important for entrepreneurs?
Because unless your last name is SnapChat, TikTok or Instagram, this is not a sprint. This is a marathon.
The Must-Do list of stress-inducing, heart attack producing issues is much longer than the Get-To-Do list of drinking mojitos on your private yacht filled with hookers and blow.
First: I cannot imagine life any other way. Getting to make cool sh*t with awesome people that fills a demand paid for by badass customers are three of life’s greatest pleasures. Bonus if you eat your own dog food (use your own products) because they’re just that good.
Second: Having some semblance of upside is the Hopenol we all need to fulfill our days grinding away at that killer idea. The one that looked so damn simple sketched out on a napkin. But becomes a Godzilla-scale menace to life and limb once you’re into your Series-A round.
Understanding those things prepares you for the slog that is the reality of any successful startup.
Example: I’m on Year 9 of my current startup, WebNutrients.
But that doesn’t include the 3+ years of research and testing prior to incorporating in 2012.
Nor does it address the decades of prior brain-stretching efforts to decipher my own health and wellness issues, learning all the jingo and sciency stuff necessary to become a domain expert of sorts.
Keep in mind that, in my former life, 3 years was a lonnnnnnnnng time for me to move from startup to sell/kill/hire a real manager to run the ship.
I was Entrepreneurially ADHD.
So Mindset and Motivation are the core elements necessary to show up every day (and yes, I do mean EVERY day — 24/7/365 — until you get your baby out of diapers, into an Italian suit, catered to by the capable hands of an awesome team and amazing customers.)
Here’s to your killer mindset!
As of late, I’ve adopted more of Scott Galloway’s immortal insights into a better way to manage the sprint we call Startups. Here’s the gist of the book, in a little 10-minute slice of awesome:
