Yesterday I was talking to a group of fund managers about introducing my FounderOS training system into their programming. One of them asked me:
“Do you think your training system is beneficial for young entrepreneurs who are just starting out?”
When you teach someone how to swim, it helps to guide them first.
You adjust their expectations.
You give them some training.
So that when you throw them into the water, they’re not in total shock, and can actually think, and have a better chance to survive.
But the biggest benefit isn’t technique.
It’s this:
They learn what doing something new can feel like. They adjust their expectations and prepare as well as they can.
I always say, "Entrepreneurship is a marathon with no finish line and no idea where/when the help comes, what you'll experience on your path" - so, get ready for this.
Entrepreneurship doesn’t work like school - I had to overcome my own "good student" false expectations of the busines game.
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Doing the work does not guarantee success.
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Effort in does not equal results out.
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Most of the time, you’re failing in public, learning as you go, with no promise or timeline for a "fair" payoff.
Just normalizing this changes everything.
It leads to better, more sustainable decisions.
And it protects people from the emotional roller-coaster, which might be the hardest part of the game to master, the part of the game that makes most people quit.
This Friday, I’m running a 24-hour relay race with a team.
A friend asked me,
“Are you prepared?”
The honest answer?
You can’t be fully prepared for something you’ve never done before.
But there is a skill that dramatically increases your chances of making it through, the skill that I've been training all along:
Adjusting your expectations.
And making key decisions in advance, while your brain is calm and can do its best job.
I’m using proven tools like:
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Mental contrasting (what I want vs. what will make it hard, preparing for the hard),
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Premortems (what can go wrong, and how I’ll handle it).
Because when your brain is exhausted, stressed, or emotional, it doesn't work well at all - it just wants you to quit and get back to "safety".
It will be hard.
I have no idea how it will turn out.
So my job now is:
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Gather the best prep tips I can.
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Decide in advance:
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How I’ll pace myself.
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Under what conditions we push, slow down, or stop.
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What our game plan is when things inevitably go sideways.
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All of that gets decided before the stress comes.
Sound familiar?
Entrepreneurship, and most real life, plays by the same rules.
Over to you, dear reader,
Where might your expectations be getting in the way of your success?
And what decisions could you make now , while you’re calm, to help you choose better in the hot moments of life, work and racing?
