Major life hack: Don't complain, ever. Nobody likes a complainer. They drain the energy of everyone around them. It's exhausting spending time around someone who constantly complains about things outside their control. If it’s within your control, go do something about it. If it’s not, you’re just wasting energy thinking about it. Complaining gives too much power to the thing. Take back that power.
Maybe I'm just slow.
But a bit of founder wisdom I've really learned these past 3 years:
Every successful company initiative we've done...it takes 3-6 months longer than I predicted it would take.
Often, as a founder I can accurately predict the results within 25% of the outcome. I feel I have a decent ish hit rate predicting what will succeed.
But I am almost always DRASTICALLY off on the timeline.
We're just now seeing AMAZING results on changes we made roughly 12 months ago.
I thought those results were going to come nine months ago.
It sucks. But everything takes longer than the founder wants it to.
But if you build a good company, the results do come, and you start seeing exponential growth and results.
Even simple stuff. Referral programs, paid ads, marketing angles. Whatever. Things I thought would not take a long time to master.
Takes forever to get everyone bought in, rowing in the right direction. Being patient for results, constantly improving every single week.
Sort of like losing weight. You see results, but not amazing results, but after doing it consistently for six months, everyone has that time where they look in the mirror and they're like, "Holy shit, I'm fit now. It worked."
And the worst part about all this is that it took me 15 years to learn. I'm an idiot for not figuring this out sooner. Cost me so much time and money
I agree with my friend Brian most of the time.
This is one of those times.
Start making your internal company data legible. Not just for AI, but in general.
Back in 2011, I went into computer hardware repairs. I started with laptop chargers. I remember peeling back the rubber, soldering wires, and always staring at that weird plastic bulge on the cable. It didn't look like it did anything, but it was on every single high-end charger I fixed. I used to wonder if it was a hidden battery or just a weight to keep the cord from tangling.
It turns out, that little lump is the unsung hero of your workspace.
It's called a Ferrite Bead, and its only job is to act as a silencer for your electricity.
See, every electronic device is naturally noisy. They send out invisible electromagnetic signals. Without that cylinder, your charger cable would turn into a giant antenna, broadcasting interference that would make your Wi-Fi slow, your TV flicker, or your speakers buzz.
Inside that plastic shell is just a chunk of magnetic iron. It catches all that electrical noise and kills it before it can escape the wire.
It’s basically a muzzle for your cable so your gadgets can live in peace.
INALEGWU.