Eighteen Years in the Arena
What creative entrepreneurship really teaches you once the noise fades.
Eighteen years in, here’s the truth no algorithm will tell you.
When I started my entrepreneurial journey, I thought entrepreneurship was about hustle, hacks, and keeping up with the trends. That’s what was taught and modeled.
What I’ve discovered is it’s really about navigating noise, creating on your own terms, and figuring out how to stay human while the world chases algorithms.
Here’s what I wish I’d known sooner:
1. Visibility is not the same as viability.
Platforms will hand out dopamine hits all day long. But followers aren’t the same as buyers. Quiet, consistent work beats the viral post every time.
2. The system rewards mimicry, not originality.
Scroll any feed and it’s copy-paste land. If you’re original, expect slower traction. But originality is what builds staying power. Mimicry pays for a moment. Originality pays over a lifetime.
3. Autonomy is expensive, but worth it.
You give up certainty to gain freedom. It’s not for the faint of heart, but nothing compares to waking up knowing you own your time—and your soul.
4. Small daily actions beat dramatic leaps.
Forget the big launch energy. What gets you to the finish line of anything worth doing is repetition: the draft, the email, the conversation, the step forward you take today.
Consistently doing the boring stuff separates the average from the elite.
5. The game is performance, but you don’t have to play it.
The feeds push you to posture, to “build your brand.” But chasing relevance is exhausting. Building substance is harder and infinitely more rewarding.
6. Rest is strategy.
Burnout is easy. Longevity is hard. Creativity only thrives when you protect the vessel it comes through. Homemade chocolate chip cookies fresh out of the oven and naps matter.
7. Who you are matters as much as what you make.
Projects end. Platforms change. But your voice, your integrity, your way of seeing are what people actually carry with them.
Eighteen years in, I know this much: the noise isn’t going away, but we can choose how we respond to it.
That’s what my new book is about—It’s Not You, It’s the Algorithm—coming fall 2025. If this essay resonated, you’ll want to read it. Think of it as a field guide for staying human in a machine-driven world.
I’ll be sharing more soon. In the meantime, I’d love to hear: which of these lessons rings true for you?