The Startup Of Ourselves

It is wonderful to notice how tiny organisms can teach us so much. For example, some microbes aren’t useful until they start growing. We don’t see them because we can’t see them. They have to grow to survive. Bacteria grows most vigorously, they grow exponentially at 37 degrees Celsius. In an incubator.

That’s also why startup incubators exist, right? To help brand new companies grow rapidly. To be seen. To earn more than the year before. To be more than the year before.To survive. That’s the very definition of a startup.

Why can’t we treat ourselves like we treat our startups? Shouldn’t we be searching for our own “business models”, our own methods for rapid personal growth that we can spread to others? One we can repeat over and over again to create better versions of ourselves? Startups don’t stop at version 1.0, why should we?

Our bodies are naturally at 37 degrees Celsius. We’re built to grow. We’re our own incubator.

If you reflect on who you were six months ago and don’t feel even slightly embarrassed by that person, you aren’t growing. You’re stagnant.

In the microbiology world, the word for bacteria like that.

Dead.

Invest in Yourself.

Don’t just grow. Grow exponentially. Each year should feel better than the last. If you hit a ceiling, break it.

• There’s always room for improvement. Run more, read more, do more. Start with running just a mile every day. Or just reading for 30 minutes every day. Start slow, then speed up. You’ll be amazed at how quickly you’ll learn, and do new things.
• Be a producer. Write something. Photograph something. Tell people about something. Create something every day.Think of new ways to move the ideas inside your head out into the world. Grow your influence and yourself. The more you get “out there”, the higher the chance that people will listen to what you have to say.
• Do Great Things. There’s a reason why some of the happiest people in the world are tackling its greatest challenges. Elon’s vision isn’t about making money, it’s about improving the world. The more you care about the outcome of your work, the less it feels like work. Treat every hour you put into what you learn and do as an hour that goes towards making the world a better place to live in. Make an investment in yourself an investment in humanity.

Don’t have time to incubate yourself?

Make it. You own 100% of you.

Grow. Be noticed. Be an inspiration. I’m not going to tell you to be the next Elon Musk. You should be yourself. Be the best damn You that you can be, and do the impossible along the way.

“The odds are we won’t succeed. But if something is important enough, then you should do it anyway.”—Elon Musk

The best part of treating yourself like a startup is that there’s only one investor you have to follow through for.

You.