Write a letter to the future you
Choosing to become a startup founder is hard. The disincentives are so many — and the rewards so few and unlikely—that many startup founders I know tell me they consider it ‘a calling’ rather than a career choice, to make it seem more like a decision that was made for them, or hard-wired into them; that they were motivated by some higher purpose rather than material or creative rewards.
Looking back on the startup founder part of my career, what strikes me most about those 15 years was how rapidly it flashed past; how little of it I remember in detail.
There are many moments I remember — the whole gamut from satisfaction, laughter and elation to fear, anger and sorrow — but there are many more I can’t remember at all. Days, weeks, months and years have flown by while I’ve had my eyes focused on the screen in front of me, hands furiously typing or placing phone calls, all the while making progress towards goals that I can barely remember now.
I look at photos of me from that time and barely recognise who I see. I wonder who that verison of me was, and what I was really aiming to achieve, much less how it felt to be doing it.
Before your new founder journey gets too crazy, consider taking a little time to write to your future self. Write it so the future you can remember the decisions you made, the priorities you…
