For years I thought this was a cool and inspiring picture (the one with the one room lit up in the office building) about entrepreneurship. I thought it reflected perfectly what entrepreneurship was all about: working hard and making long hours to build your company around your dream. Over the last years however, my opinion about what entrepreneurship is and what it could be has changed.. Yes you should pursue year dream and build a great company, yes you should work hard (but preferably smart) and yes this can sometimes be late at night. But for a lot of aspiring entrepreneurs this picture seems to be the starting point and sometimes even the goal to start a company. I too have worked many nights and put a lot of energy, effort and caffeine in my own and fellow startups. In retrospect this I have come to learn that sometimes you need to go that extra mile and put in the hours but that it is not worth it to make it a daily habit. Real life doesn’t happen in an office and real happiness and success (at least for me personally) are not derived from working hard, making a lot of money or having your picture on TV, newspaper or magazine.
Happiness for me comes from spending quality time on the topics that matter to me: friends and family, exercise, travel to places that inspire me and help others to design a great lifestyle for themselves as well, hence the second picture. Do you agree or disagree? I am curious to hear more opinions on this so hit me!
