Page 100 - 6 Secrets to Startup Success

Founder Readiness 79

3. Refill your tank. Pay attention to how you perform, how you
recover, what renews you, and what depletes you. Based on
these observations, build regular routines and rituals to con-
tinually strengthen your energy and performance.

4. Welcome adversity. In startups, as in life, we cannot predict the
future, nor can we fully protect ourselves from the challenges
and crises to come. Adversity can strengthen an entrepreneur
and a team like no other force, especially when approached
with the attitude captured by German diplomat and psy-
chotherapist Karlfried Von Durkheim, who said, “Only to the
extent that a man exposes himself over and over again to an-
nihilation, can that which is indestructible arise within him.
In this lies the dignity of daring.”17

DIRECT YOUR PASSION

Finally, aim your passion in ways that will reduce the danger of
falling into the passion trap and increase your overall odds of venture
success. For example, cultivate:

9 Passion for your customer, rather than your product

9 Passion for learning the truth, rather than being right

9 Passion for exploring contradictory data, rather than holding
on to old beliefs

9 Passion for learning about your competitors’ strengths, rather
than dismissing them

9 Passion for finding and attracting the best possible talent for
your venture team

American Management Association • www.amanet.org