OK with Normal

A common thing thrown around is to found a company when you're young. Before you have a partner and kids. When you have nothing to lose and all the time in the world.

I'm not sure if the thoughts behind this idea are wrong but I think they fail to capture the full calculus behind building a company.

I think one thing it fails to capture is the idea of normal. Especially Bay Area normal. Go to high school. Do well on the SATs. Get into a good college. Get some internships. Get a job. Get promoted. Find a wife. Have kids.

It's the normal, well-trod path. But I think there's something about normal paths that is overlooked. There is more behind the normal. A depth in the life you build with your partner and the kids you eventually have. And one day you realize what felt normal was the special you were looking for.

And that special you were looking for might've been to jump off the deep end of starting a company that might even put that “special” at risk. Normal can be enough, and experiencing that normal and realizing how special it is in itself, might be what you've been seeking this whole time.