The #1 reason why my startup failed is because it wasn’t my life’s work.  I wanted to become a millionaire and be a venture backed startup founder.  In 2012, I believed I could do both by building a social media marketing app that went viral.

My product was good, but not great. Despite this, starting with an average product is not really what held me back from success.  I’m confident that I could have eventually found product market fit if my passions were in the marketing industry.

However, marketing is not my passion.  It’s not that I don’t like the industry. I still to this day follow the influencers and keep up with the latest industry news.  It’s just that pursuing long term goals in a startup environment is hard.  You must eat, drink, sleep, and live the industry if you want to lead a successful startup.

I didn’t get this until the pain of not acquiring enough customers hit me like a brick in year 3.  Up until that point I was coding the software, iterating on features, and building the brand.  I was too busy working 80 hours a week to realize that my sole focus was on making money and not building my life’s work.

I was led to reflect on this earlier today. While scrolling through Instagram, I saw that my cousin posted this verse from Proverbs 19:21:

You can make many plans, but the Lord’s purpose will prevail.

This verse shook me to my core as I thought about my journey from the day I quit my job to today.

I’m convinced now that having a brilliant career is not the same as doing a life’s work. I’m passionate about a ton of things, but I know focusing on what I spend my time doing effortlessly is the secret to finding my life’s work.

Please learn from my mistakes.  Don’t waste your life on this earth chasing money, fame, job titles, and material objects. It’s never to late to change your mindset. All it takes is to start your journey for personal growth.  Through that growth you will find your life’s work.