The Poison of Doubts

Yes we do often feel like imposters.
Even worse, I have felt the pain of guilt.

Have you lost a company? I have.

I was confident and unstoppable, able to convince my family, friends, and others, to invest about two million dollars into the great promise of my vision. When receiving their support these people became important and I cared deeply for them. How could it be possible to NOT feel something for the people who believe in you?

It hurts when you lose their money. It hurts really bad.

Looking back, there were some days when I felt worried about taking people's money because I felt so insecure about my project. There were also days when I felt so much confidence that I wished I didn't want to have to sacrifice any stock. Whatever they were willing to pay didn't seem like it was enough to sacrifice any equity.

The Positive Days were so incredibly empowering. The Negative Days were so devastatingly deflating. So, what is the lesson here?

You will have days when you feel like you are immortal. Likewise, you will also have days when you feel like you are a fool.

There will also be days when you are seeking investment just to save your life when things seem to have no hope.

MY ADVICE:

Believe in yourself. Believe in your vision. Just keep going. Period.

If I were to go back and change the most important thing, I would have never doubted myself, nor my idea. I worked hard on that idea, vetted it, and made sure that is was solid. Somehow my doubts really harmed me. They were nothing more than vapor but I gave them power. Damn, I wish I just always plowed ahead forward.

Please be sure to note that there are other companies, even Facebook, that started with a bad idea (ranking female classmates for attractiveness) or YouTube (paying women money to post videos of themselves so that men will date them) it didn't matter. Less important than the idea is the notion of "moving forward".

When you move forward you always encounter challenges. The value of your company is really the value of the pivots you make to these challenges. The accumulation of a thousand decisions is the true value of your company.

If you work hard, if you always believe in yourself at least enough to keep moving forward, then your momentum will get you to the promised land. Keep moving, make turns when appropriate, and you will find your dream.

Facebook was a terrible idea at the start but their million little "pivots" changed them into what they ultimately became. It wasn't the original idea, it was the continued effort and willingness to pivot their idea that led to such enormous success.

So, stop feeling the ups and downs of your journey. Instead, commit to the vision. Plow through everything until you achieve. Yes, you will have doubts and moments that lack clarity. Regardless, move forward. Fortune rewards those who "move" more than it reward those who seek the "right direction".

Just F'ing keep going no matter how you feel.

We all encounter doubt. We will all encounter enormous barriers. We will all encounter times when we believe we can conquer the world and times when we can't believe we are anything more than fools.

Move. Simply, keep moving. Sharks have it right.

And,

Do not ever waiver in your beliefs about your vision. Doubt is inevitable. But doubt is nothing more than a desire to stop moving forward. If you keep moving forward then you will eventually overcome all lack of clarity. A million decisions, a million pivots, will lead you to your greatest destiny. It's all about keeping moving.

Go Get Em'

I believe in you. You can do it. Everyone who has "done it" kept going no matter what. Keep moving, in times of doubt and times of confidence, but just keep moving. Movement is what matters most.