Finding Satisfaction in the Entrepreneurial Process

Do you have any takeaways now about where happiness resides in the entrepreneurship process? Because it seems like after Twitch, you would have been the poster child of any aspiring entrepreneur who is trying to make money. You didn't make a million dollars. You made probably two orders of magnitude more than that. And yet you still thought, I need to go even. I need to have 10 billion. And so in these processes, when is it the most? Do you ever feel happy or fully content and sated where there's not this desire to even do more, maybe that is tied with happiness in that entrepreneurial journey? And if so, where is that and when is that?

Well, I think there's two answers. One is that there are, like, whatever you do, whether it's entrepreneurship or anything else, there are hopefully ways, like experiences that you have of being in a flow state, right? Something where you're, like, very present and you just love what you're doing. You know, you have joy. You find joy in what you're doing, and you can just be fully present with it. So for me, like, there were moments of that in, you know, building a product or programming, right? Like, things that I just, like, really love to do. There are a lot of things that, like, I didn't have a flow state in, like, managing people or, like, worrying about the sales or, you know, whatever. There's, like, tons of things worrying about fundraising, stuff like that. So that was like. Well, there were punctuated moments of happiness probably, like, you know, varying degrees over time, like, depending on what I was doing and, like, what my responsibilities were on the entrepreneurial journey. So, you know, like, I would encourage people, I guess, if they're, like, looking for what to do. Like, you should think about, like, what is the thing that gives you joy to do every day? That's what I think about every. Like, now it's like, what do I love to do every day? And what would I do if nobody paid me for it, if nobody was watching it, if it was just for my own edification, like, Right. And so, you know, that's why I like making content on YouTube. It's like, I love storytelling, so I'm like, making content for this YouTube channel. Like, it's never going to be as big as, like, people who are making, like, really compelling content. It's just, like, a little niche around entrepreneurship, but it gives me joy to do it, so, you know, I do it.

And so are you past that feeling before? So right now, when you see the Coinbase founders and because everybody's like, Justin Kahn, he's the man and then when you see whoever is, you know, that next goalpost for you, do you still have that feeling? And if not, can you explain where you're at right now in life? And.

Yeah, so. So, right. So, like, yeah, I don't. I let it go. Right. Like, I let go of my, like, comparison to, like, other entrepreneurs, but it didn't happen because I made any more money or was any more successful. Like, I had, like, tons of comparison and, like, beating myself up over, oh, we should have kept going with Twitch or whatever, whatever, like, it's worth more or, like, I should start a new company. Like, that was all happening even after we sold Twitch.

Right.

And then, you know, what changed was for me, I, like, kind of woke up one day. I went through a series of life events where I realized, like, oh, I am just. I. Like, this is, like, this is a treadmill that. A hedonic treadmill that can last forever, and I'll always be dissatisfied. And maybe happiness doesn't come from external things, it comes from the internal. Right, right. Like, even, like, in the past, like, I've achieved everything I thought, and then there's just been new goalposts, and then, like, another treadmill of, like, or another hamster wheel of, like, unhappiness or dissatisfaction, I should say. And maybe instead, like, I should focus on, like, how I can be satisfied every day and, like, what are the things that give me peace every day? And so there's a lot of things, like, you know, sort of giving a gratitude journal every day. I started exercising every day. I started meditating every day and basically reprogram my mind to be like. Like, let go of a lot of these attachments to, like, other, you know, outside sources of reward or achievement.

And. And are there. And so you. Do you find yourself then more in that flow state that you were talking about before where you. You are getting more joy now than you did in the past. Or was there another moment in the past where you felt it was the pinnacle of life, pleasure?

No, no, no. Now is the pinnacle of life for sure.

Like, now is the pinnacle.

Okay. Yeah. Like, for me, it's like, yeah, I'm more in the flow state and more doing the things that give me joy every day, because I'm just choosing the activities that do that. And the funny thing is, like, from the outside, it looks like I'm pretty much doing the exact same thing. There's this concept my meditation teacher speaks about in Buddhism where, like, the final stage is, like a wheel of, like, progression, and then the final stage the image that represented is. Represents. It is just like the shopkeeper in the town square or whatever. And he's just living, like, a normal life. He's just super at peace, like, free of attachment, right? But he's, like, gone all the way around and, like, from the outside, you'd never know. And I feel like the thing is, like, people are like, oh, you're just on YouTube, on social media, making content and, like, investing in startups and incubating startups. So, like, it's exactly the same thing you were doing three years ago, five years ago, ten years ago, whatever. But the difference is, like, today I just do them from a place of joy where I'm, like, less concerned with, like, or I'm not concerned with, like, the outcome, and it's more about, like, am I enjoying the process of this? Am I working with people I like? Am I working? Am I doing the things that I think are my talent instead of the things that I don't think are my talent? You know, I think I'm good at fundraising. I think I'm good at, like, ideas. I think I'm good at mentoring and coaching. And, like, maybe I'm not as good at being the CEO of these companies or whatever. And so I just focus on the things that I love to do every day. And it happens to look like a lot of the things that I was doing before, but just part of them, the part that I love and not the part that I don't love.