Most founders obsess over runaway, burn rate, etc.
Very few obsess over the one operating system that makes any of that usable:
𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐨𝐰𝐧 𝐧𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐨𝐮𝐬 𝐬𝐲𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐦.
When I was building my first company, I treated my body like a bad employee.
Always demanding more.
Never listening.
It “worked”…right up until it didn’t.
Over time I realized something simple that I later wrote about in Crash Course.
𝐢𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐛𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐤, 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐚𝐧𝐲 𝐛𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐤𝐬 with you.
You are more than your company, but at the beginning your startup is not more than you.
Here’s how I think about it now 👇
1️⃣ 𝐇𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐭𝐡 𝐢𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐚 𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐫-𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐠𝐞 𝐟𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞
Founders tell themselves: “𝘐’𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘮𝘺𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧 𝘢𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘯𝘦𝘹𝘵 𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥 / 𝘭𝘢𝘶𝘯𝘤𝘩 / 𝘤𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘪𝘴.”
That “after” never comes.
There’s always another fire.
2️⃣ 𝐘𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐛𝐨𝐝𝐲 𝐢𝐬 𝐚𝐧 𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐥𝐲-𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐬𝐲𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐦, 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐚𝐧 𝐨𝐛𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐜𝐥𝐞
Sleep issues.
Irritability.
Brain fog.
That tightness in your chest before investor calls.
Ignoring them is like ignoring churn.
Pain is information.
3️⃣ 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐭𝐞𝐜𝐭 “𝐟𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝐛𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐰𝐢𝐝𝐭𝐡” 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐭𝐞𝐜𝐭 𝐜𝐚𝐬𝐡
You track your runway down to the month.
Do you track your energy with the same precision?
By remaining healthy and optimistic, you’re actually more likely to reach your goals as a founder.
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