It’s 4 A.M, and something doesn’t let you sleep. And in this state, you stumble upon the story of a founder who is doing really well but is not satisfied with what he has. (Link below).
I don’t want to be a founder anymore
I have seen many kinds of people but mostly they fall into two categories. First would be those who keep feeling void inside if they’re not achieving something. They’re the ones who like to be challenged, questioned, put into complex situations, and yet find their way out. Consider them to be the hustlers. You’ll easily be able to spot them around you. Probably your colleague who wants to do more, your friend who keeps pitching you insane ideas or that guy who you think is crazily scratching his head while you sip your coffee at a cafe.
Second would be those who are very calm, steady, and satisfied. Their life is all about being stress-free and happy. You’ll find these people often taking extremely calculated risks. Planning out each and every step with a solid back up plan. Often satisfied with what they have with little or no craving to acquire a lot of material or immaterial assets.
In your lifetime, you might fall in and out of these categories at various phases, probably multiple times. For some people it’s a constant itching to do better, be the best, stand out, invent, build, break and make things, and no matter what but keep going. The best example would be Elon Musk. Most glorified success stories on the internet these days give credit to such people.
For some, it’s momentarily triggered by some eureka moment. You wouldn’t know if it’ll last longer and if something tangible will come out of it.
And for the rest, it doesn’t matter. I have seen people who’ve found a perfect place for themselves in life. Living in a moment with a carefree attitude, no aspirations to wear an Armani or drive a BMW.
Which one is worth it?
Both. You have little to no control in which category you’ll fall into. To illustrate that, here’s my favorite quote.
“Que Sera, Sera” (Whatever Will Be, Will Be)
We all have asked this question to ourselves at some point of time in life. We compared ourselves to those who’re doing well, felt jealous, promised to do better, sometimes acted on it, and sometimes everything went in vain and we went back to our regular routine.
I started writing this blog at 4 AM. It was unusual. I have always loved my sleep, maybe more than anything else. Why did it happen? I was too excited about things happening around me or maybe there’s something in my head that doesn’t let me sleep. It’s that constant itching that keeps going on in my mind. Without it, life feels meaningless. It feels like we’re always on a quest to find purpose in life, if there is any.
Are you feeling void or filling the void?
It took me three years to come back and finish this article. I started writing this on 25th May 2017. I still remember exactly how I was feeling that day. It was the early days of my entrepreneurial journey and I was too excited about something. Well, that didn’t work out and after it came a series of ups and downs. There were occasions where I would come back to this half-written blog and think about finishing it, but as you can see I never could.
The thing about being a dreamer or ambitious is, at times, you get very excited. Over the last three years, I was trying to control these emotions and be calm and more practical. I still make a lot of mistakes. If I could summarise the last three years of this journey, I’ve made plenty of mistakes. The good thing about making mistakes is you also keep paying the price for it. It seems like today I’m at a point where I can no longer pay the price.
I’m trying to reflect on those mistakes and take action to fix them. A lot of good things also happened during this time. I raised some money for my company and aspired to build a global product. It took more than I expected to reach till the level I am at. It’s going to take a lot more to reach where I want to be.
When the pandemic was declared and everything was under lockdown, I felt a lot of anxiety. I wasn’t sure if we would survive this. Luckily, things worked out. Sometimes when I see these things it almost feels like magic. The magic that’s happening for almost four years now.
I think because of this magic, I lost the feeling of being void and in turn, trying to fill the void. For a guy who never believed in a Plan B, this magic was acting like a cushion. This article is my attempt at weeding out that magic. It’s time to take action. A few recent failures were good enough motivation to help bring me back to this realization. From this moment onwards, it’s about making or breaking things.
If you’re still reading, this paragraph is for you. I’m not sure what brought you here but if you’re looking for answers, there aren’t any. You need to figure things out on your own. While you’re at it, don’t make mistakes for too long. Don’t be afraid to fail and move on. Keep reminding yourself why you started it and why you need to finish it. Good luck.
PS: If you have a piece of advice or feedback for me please drop a comment or a note to me.