What they don’t often tell you about entrepreneurship
I knew a lot about entrepreneurship. Growing up, I read a ton of books about it and could recite every business model at the time. I knew about most entrepreneurs, big or small, and their path to success. I knew about business strategy, leadership, and technology. In essence, I did my homework and knew my shit.
I thought that I’d be well prepared for the entrepreneurship journey. Though, as Mike Tyson says, “Everyone has a plan until they get punched in the face.”
And boy, did I get punched hard.
What these books don’t tell you are the tradeoffs that entrepreneurs often make in their relationships and their family. The failed marriages, the neglected children, and the friends they never had.
Every great entrepreneur has a failed marriage or family life. In our generation, we see:
- Steve Jobs → divorced and neglected his kids
- Elon Musk → divorced and lives a fuckboy lifestyle
- Bill Gates → divorced
- Jeff Bezos → divorced
- Sergey Brin → divorced
- Larry Page → TBD
- Mark Zuckerberg → TBD
Being the best in the world at something requires a deep focus and persistence.
To get deep focus and persistence, you need to neglect everything else. You need to not talk to your family or friends as much. You need to have very little interests or hobbies outside of work. You essentially become committed to the cause. That singular focus gives you that extra edge and that extra edge is what makes you great in business.
Or you can be mediocre at your craft. You decide.
It’s a tough choice when you know what it takes for greatness, but to decide to do something else. It’s a choice that not many books or biographies go into the details of. The most successful entrepreneurs made the choice and chose to neglect all aspects of their life outside of their business.
Are you willing to do the same? Are you willing to have no marriage or a shitty marriage? Are you willing to be a bad mother or father?
If not, then you need to think hard about being an entrepreneur.
I realized late in my journey that I wasn’t willing to make the sacrifice. I wish I knew this sooner.
