The other day I read a blog post by Derek Sivers, the founder of CD Baby, the largest online distributor of independent music. Derek sold CD Baby several years back. What you might not know is that prior to the sale, Derek placed his stake in CD Baby—valued at $22 million at the time he sold the company—into a charitable foundation for the purpose of music education. Derek has found fulfillment in life, and he tells his story on his blog. You need to read this.
Coincidentally, I ran into a TED talk given by Tony Robbins the other day; again, on the subject of fulfillment. You can watch it below. I’m not usually a fan of the “motivational speaker” crowd in general, but I have to admit that I found Tony’s talk to be engaging and thought-provoking. I like his theme about real fulfilment, “give to live,” “we not me,” and exploring the web inside your mind that helps you answer why you really do what you do.
How about you? Why do you do what you do? If you’re in an entrepreneur or working in a startup, what’s the real reason for it? No, not the money…the real reason. Money is a form of creative energy, and as such is just a means to an end. Where will you find fulfillment? These are important things to ask yourself if you’re going to endure the long, hard and uncertain life of creating new companies. The fact is, startups aren’t for everyone and they’re hard to stay focused on for the years it will take you—you need to have something important to you—something fulfilling—if you’re going to stay the course.
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