The unbearable self-inflicted pain of entrepreneurship

This isn’t a tale of self-pity or complacency. It's a reflection, raw and contradictory, of the life of an entrepreneur. It’s not about the glories of being an entrepreneur or a proclamation of predestined greatness. No bragging, no spotlights, no shallow interviews—just an honest attempt to share some of the deep, often hidden, emotions that accompany this path, day in and day out.

For me, being an entrepreneur, especially when all your eggs are in the same basket, is a constant personal battle. You wrestle with self-doubt, impatience, dreams that seem just out of reach, lack of success, dopamine rushes, the need to always be a motivating force, a sense of overwhelming failure, and blindness to how successful you're becoming. Ironically, while you’re supposed to see the big picture, you often find yourself entangled in the smallest of details while you trust the big picture (as contradictory as it sounds). A bit dark? Perhaps, but I promise there's light ahead.

You remind yourself daily that you’re only human, yet each morning you rise and fight as if there’s no tomorrow. No matter how brilliant or disastrous the previous day was, you keep pushing forward. But this relentless drive takes a toll on your health, your relationships, and your very soul.

You push, laugh, cry, vent, breathe, and enjoy -which is not quite the same as finding joy-. Most of this happens in the solitude of your office, behind closed doors.

This isn’t something you can change; it’s hardwired into you. It’s where you thrive and where you stumble: it's just what you do. The successes are your team’s triumphs, but the failures are yours alone. Perhaps that’s why you seek out perks and better compensation packages than anybody else, small indulgences to momentarily soothe you. But deep down, you know they’re just fleeting distractions.

And yet... most people aren’t entrepreneurs, and they’re making a tremendous impact in their own right.

If you’re in this boat and are not willing to pay the price -it can be more than you bargained for, and comes in silent installments-, if you're in this for the money, the spotlight, or the external recognition, stop now. Don’t fall for the myth that only entrepreneurs make a difference. But if you’re doing this because it’s in your DNA, because you know no other way, because you are good at it, and because despite all the bad and the ugly you always, always can spot a sunshine, then, fight like crazy. People also need us.

I’m not religious, but I’ve recently discovered a distinction - I am a spiritual person. I urge you to connect with your spiritual self.

Now, I’m grappling with a fundamental question: Have I done everything I could, considering my flaws and limitations? Do I believe we’re still on the right path? If the answer is yes —and trust me, it’s difficult to be kind to yourself or even objective— then you must believe that something good will happen. Maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow, but it will happen.

Because at the end of the day, sometimes the only things left to do is wait and rest.

In the meantime, if you love what you do as I do, surround yourself with like-minded people — believers, dreamers, those who’ve failed, and those who’ve occasionally succeeded. Dream of a better future, because this world desperately needs old-fashioned dreamers.

But most importantly, remember your humanity. Stay in the present to savor the true wonders of life: your family, your children, your friends, and your health.