To Succeed, You’ll Have to Work for 16 Hours a Day. Everyday

I heard that throughout my career on about a monthly basis. Since trying to put together my startup, even more often. It’s said, usually, with a rigid tone, raised eyebrows and accompanied by an aura of self-entitlement, even though the intentions are noble.

I read an article once, or several on the topic, that said that everyone can become rich, they just have to try hard enough, give everything they have. Somewhat similar to dieting; to succeed, you have to make sacrifices, whether it’s a cookie or your time spent watching “Veep”.

Up until a while ago, I couldn’t grasp the concept that some people would voluntarily cut their ‘me’ time to an absolute minimum to work. For work. So working for 16 hours a day seemed too foreign for me, it was like a horror movie I didn’t want to be part of. I was more into the saying “The time you enjoy wasting is not wasted time”.

But soon, the shows end, your relationship with you SO is all warm and comfortable and you find yourself, your brain and your ambitions, craving for more. You’ve outgrown your hobbies. Suddenly, work is not enough and you see a potential in yourself.

An idea starts slowly creeping into your mind and won’t go away. You do some research, validate it over beer with friends and you soon find yourself on a mission. You don’t quite know yet where you’re going, but you have a goal — to prove yourself right or wrong — and man, oh man, you sure are enjoying the scenery.

You find yourself enthusiastically waking up early to get things done; talking about your mission through the day; finding new leads; accomplishing things. When you get caught up in it, you don’t have to do time sheets. No one is holding a gun pointed at your head that disappears into thin air once the 16 hours mark is up. You do it because you want to.

Embarking on your own mission and letting go of your old habits does no guarantee success. But once you’ve started, it’s the only thing that makes sense.