Five Lessons I Learned Late.

If I could go back to 1994 and give myself one hour of advice, here is what I would say. I teach these lessons now because I learned every one of them late.

1. Fear is information, not instructionListen to it. Do not let it fly the aircraft. Fear tells you what is at stake. It does not tell you what to do.
2. The market does not care how hard you workedIt cares whether you solved a real problem. Fall in love with the problem, not your solution. Waze co-founder Uri Levine made the same point the title of his 2023 book.
3. The people matter more than the planChoose partners you would trust in the cockpit. Everything else can be fixed. A plan changes every quarter. A partner is a one-way door.
4. Your body needs maintenanceIt is not a machine that runs without care. You will need it for a long time. Treat it that way now.
5. The losses teach more than the winsDo not waste them by hiding them, even from yourself. Debrief them the way a squadron debriefs a flight.

None of these lessons are original. Every one of them cost me something to learn. That is what makes them worth passing on. You can only earn experience, and then decide whether to keep it or give it away.

Write your own five

1. Imagine the hourOne hour with a younger you, or with a founder at the start of the road.
2. Write five lessonsSpecific and earned. If a lesson did not cost you something, cross it out and dig deeper.
3. Give one awayShare at least one of them with someone this week.