Dear Entrepreneur,
Entrepreneurship is lonely. Nobody will know how hard you work at what you do. Nobody will give you the acknowledgment or the “pat on the back” you feel you deserve. Nobody will sit there, cheering you on. Nobody will take the fall when you mess up. Nobody will be able to tell you which direction is right or wrong.
Entrepreneurship is lonely because, by definition, it means choosing to go your own way. Not only will your efforts go unacknowledged by the majority of people in your life (at least to the degree you’d like them to be), but at every step, you will feel like you’re letting someone down.
If you aren’t letting your significant other down because you’ve been working for 17 straight hours, then you’re letting your friend down for not calling back, or you’re letting your co-founder down by not responding to an issue fast enough, or you’re letting your employees down by not getting them what they need, or you’re letting yourself down for not being able to do it all.
In the process of trying to be great, you will fail at almost everything. And do you know what? It’s okay, because at the end of the day, all you can do is your best, and then wake up the next day and try again, and again.
With love,
Chidi