Dear friend,
Together with my girlfriend, I went to Mallorca in the summer for seven days.
It was wonderful weather. We had a clean, spacious apartment in Alcúdia. Shops, gym, beach, pool – everything was easily accessible. And via a quick car ride, we could go on great hiking routes.
This year’s vacation was different, though. I’ve become a founder. Taking days off felt like leaving a newborn child of mine at home.
I tried my best to be present. But every day for a few hours, my thoughts revolved around my startup.
This is natural behavior considering the analogy of a newborn child.
Luckily: Children become adults; startups become grown-ups. And the intensity with which a “parent” thinks about its “creation” diminishes.
Nevertheless, things will never be the same.
Creating vs. consuming
During the vacation and lying in the sun, I reflected for hours:
Am I happy? Hell yeah!
But:
I work so much. For most of my lifetime, I was working – creating.
How can I be so happy?
Most people dislike working, right? They would rather receive their salary without work in exchange and use the time to consume: watch Netflix, meet friends for brunch, go to parties, etc.
I wouldn’t prefer that. I worked on my startup for half a year without a single penny gaining from it.
Why?
I concluded: There are two ways of spending time: creating and consuming.
And I LOVE creating. There is nothing in life that brings me more joy than creating.
Ideally, I create together with like-minded people.
Creating: elaborating a concept and convincing people of it; writing a blog post to help people make better decisions; sowing tomato seeds and watering them; teaching a toddler how to pronounce a word correctly; cooking dinner for your parents; etc.
Consuming: going out with friends; eating in a restaurant; watching a soccer game; flying to Mallorca for vacation; playing card games with your siblings; etc.
There are different people.
And it’s totally fine being someone who enjoys creating more than consuming.
Or what do you think about how to spend our lifetime?
All the best to you and yours,
David
