Happy Holidays; STILL not a doctor.

Tell me if this sounds familiar:

You're a founder hustling in a big city,

You're working with your team having a huge impact,

You're rubbing shoulders with investors, advisors, and industry moguls - many of whom think you have promise.

You're seeing HUGE opportunity, talking every day with customers, and so energized to get things going.

But tomorrow is Christmas Eve.

Next week is New Years.

And suddenly -

Investors are on vacation, the team is mysteriously absent, the internet is getting quiet,

And you're sitting on a couch in a family member's home, staring at your inbox.

Tonight, you'll be trying to explain to Aunt Norma how No, you're not a doctor or a lawyer, but your potential ROI is insane!

And she'll look at you with concern.

And pat your shoulder and say she's going to introduce you to her neighbor, who's son's cousin's boyfriend works at Google.

("He's very important there - I don't know anything about it, but they said he's something called an L4!")

Meanwhile, no matter how small your family's Hanukkah bush, you can't buy gelt with options or equity shares (yet).

So you might be suffering through some half-hearted smiles

As your mom tries to feign excitement at the 2nd-hand socks you were able to afford to gift her.

Being a founder over the holidays isn't always easy.

But here's the thing:

There are 2 balls you can push forward during the holidays, maybe more than any other time:

Practicing the art of disconnecting

Feeling connected despite the disconnects

While you might feel frustrated and distracted during this time, like you're being held back,

Learning how to relax and connect can be one of the hardest and most valuable things we learn to do as founders.

Because the reality is: You're a founder now.

You will always be too busy

You will always be the weirdo in non-founder gatherings.

And if you want to survive in this business,

You have to learn to disconnect from work and recover, and

You have to learn how to connect and feel in community with people who don't get it.

So close that laptop and go hunt down some holiday cookies.

All of us startup nerds will still be here in January.


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