I was a Philosophy major in college.

I was a Startup Founder after college.

So the @PhilosoFounder persona kinda developed over 10+ years of frequent discussion/debate between those two parts of my brain. But if I had to boil it down to one "Origin Story" it would be the following (which is also the "Prologue" for our plans, so there's no need to read it again if you already have):

Like MOST Entrepreneurs, I put “CEO” on my 1st business card. Also like most entrepreneurs, I once believed in The Tooth Fairy... [In BOTH cases, it took YEARS to realize I WAS WRONG!]

After YEARS of crushing it on one side of the business (MILLIONS of FANS!) but GETTING crushed on the other side of the business (LOSING MONEY!), I took a long look in the metaphorical mirror, and asked myself:

“WHAT is the PROBLEM?!?”

(My reflection waved back at me and explained,

“It’s ME. Hi!

I’M the Problem; It’s ME!”)

So... I FIRED MYSELF AS CEO OF MY OWN COMPANY. (#BestDecisionEver) We immediately raised $1 MILLION in Funding and quickly became a PROFITABLE 7-figure company...

#IamNOTaCEO was my 1st of many Entrepreneurial Epiphanies...

It was not only the catalyst for my first startup’s success, but it also began my fascination (borderline-obsession?!?) with #SelfAwareness (or lack thereof!) – and the MANY related Problems & Pitfalls that MANY young entrepreneurs are OFTEN blind to (until YEARS LATER!), often evoking the all-too-common retrospective refrain:

“I Wish I Knew THEN, What I Know NOW!”

[Fast-Forward MANY Years after my #IamNOTaCEO Epiphany]

I’ve now Advised/Mentored/Coached 100s of young entrepreneurs over the past 10+ years…

(in addition to the 5-year analysis of @500Failures).

…and with a sample size that big, it’s amazingly easy to see the similarities and repetitive patterns and…

...the same excitement, passion, optimism, confidence, (and blindspots)...

...followed by the same lengthy learning curves, struggles, pivots, emotional rollercoasters, and ultimately/consistently, the same success/fail rates… 🙁

Overwhelming Overview of our Multi-Part Master Plan (teaser version - 1 page per part)