« I've Changed My Mind| Main | Work at Home Heaven »
The Lure of the Paycheck Stub
Got a paycheck stub? Then consider yourself lucky, or at least some folks say. With that little piece of paper you can purchase cars, get loans for unforeseen expenses, apply for jobs -- even play paycheck poker.
I was thinking about this magical piece of paper today as I worked on my start-up. It's a beautiful day here today -- temps in the mid 60s (15C), low humidity, clear blue skies, and gorgeous autumn views. It's Saturday. All my "normal" friends are out shopping, spending time with their family, hiking, or otherwise enjoying the day.
I'm up at my office, with the flu -- a fever, sore throat, and stomach ache -- banging away at a hunk of code that, if I'm lucky, might one day show somebody sometime that somehow, someway, I have an idea that's worth pursuing. If I'm really lucky, it might actually provide some value to some users somewhere. But most of the time getting to profitably isn't as simple as hacking out some code; it's a multi-step process, of which an piece of code is only a very small and replaceable part. So it's extremely unlikely that one piece of code I write today is going to change the world. It's as absurd as working at a pig farm hoping to breed flying pigs.
As I sit here, I'm reminded of what a long-time criminal said once about getting rehabilitated in prison: "It's not so much that you change your mind and give up your old ways," he said, "it's that you just get tired. After a while it all just wears on your soul."
But a funny thing happens with start-up ideas.
It used to be that I thought that the emotion comes first, then the action. That is, first you get really excited about doing your startup, then you go through the pain of trying to make it work, pulled along each step of the way by your excitement.
Unfortunately, cognitive science tells us that it doesn't work that way. Instead, you act first, either developing the idea further on paper, with friends, or in code, and then that action makes you more energized. In fact, if you're really excited about an idea after only a few seconds it's probably a counter-indicator. People are notoriously poor predictors of future emotional results.
So while you're kicking around that next great idea with your buds, remember that the kicking around part is the part that makes you motivated: the more you test and work through an idea -- using code or not -- the more attached you get to it. Action comes first and then emotion.
What does that mean in a start-up world? It means that simply because you are not excited about an idea is no reason to give it up. Sure, if you kick it around and work with it and then you're still not motivated and getting bad feedback from your users, there's something wrong. But even then I'd argue that a lot of really, really boring ideas get very sexy the first time you get a check in the mail. The idea doesn't have to sell itself to you -- that's completely backwards. It's your job to validate the idea. (One of the reasons we have this backwards is that we're swamped in "business porn", but I digress)
It means that start-ups are always going to be like pushing a rock up a big hill. At first it's just you and the rock, but you keep pushing. Sometimes you make it to the top -- ramen profitability perhaps -- only to see that you've really got a much bigger hill ahead of you. And a bigger rock.
So if you're working on that next big startup somewhere, like I am, take heart in the fact that you act first and feel it later. That the purpose is to take ownership of you and that rock and to push it with all you've got.
Speaking of that other great rock-pusher, Sisyphus, Albert Camus said once,
Each atom of that stone, each mineral flake of that night-filled mountain, in itself forms a world. The struggle itself toward the heights is enough to fill a man's heart. One must imagine Sisyphus happy.
Is it absurd to sit around writing code while sick in the hopes that you make something that will help people, knowing that the odds are stacked overwhelmingly against you? Yes, it is absurd. But absurd and valueless are two entirely different things.
You are right on... Have you read "Founders at Work"? It's a very inspiring and
motivating read if you are working on a startup.
Also, a pattern I see in startup founders is, it's so easy to get wrapped up by the whole thing and start neglecting your own health. And the stress of going through it does not help. Makes one wonder if it takes the kind that sort of enjoys the rush and stress of it all in a way, perhaps even on a subconscious level? I guess my test is the question: am I enjoying the journey? If the answer is yes, despite all the uncertainty, hardship, and stress that comes with all that, then I keep going... Good luck!
I thought I was the only absurd person to be sitting down to work on a Saturday night. Thank you for posting this.