Ep. 74 The Founder Seat is Different

"It's the mental game of being a Founder that's really surprised me." This week I had a call with a Founder who took advantage of my offer of a free Breakthrough Session for anyone who takes my Founder Type Quiz. Like many Founders, this person has tremendous knowledge and experience in their category. But this is their first go at sitting in the Founder seat. And it's different. Yes. Yes it is. While the Founder life has been painted with a sort of glamour, anybody who's been in the job knows the inside truth is far different. The Founder journey always functions at two levels. There's the brass tacks of just learning how to start, grow and lead a business. This is all about skills, experience, tools and what good looks like at each stage. This is about frantically scrambling to up-level your skills. The second level is the mental game. This is about learning to live with uncertainty and pressure, while feeling ultimately responsible for the success or failure of the business. No matter how senior your role in your previous position, there's nothing that really prepares you for "sitting in the seat." The highs are high and the lows are super low. Navigating the uncertainty and responsibility for success that comes along with the Founder title inevitably trigger our doubts, insecurities, imposter complexes and general anxiety. To succeed you have to always be working at both levels. Because every milestone tends to put in a place where you have to learn more and uplevel. In this week’s Rocket Ship Founder Podcast, I talk about: Why the Founder seat is so different 3 keys to upleveling skills 3 keys for winning the mental game This 14-minute listen will give you some food for thought for your business. To your success!