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I built a $100,000,000 business, yet hated certain things about myself as a Founder.

But I’ve learned to be more loving.

8 self-hating beliefs I’ve reframed into self-love:
Belief: Great entrepreneurs must be deeply opinionated to lead well & take big swings.

Self-critique: I don’t have strong enough opinions or contrarian views.

Reframe: I’m open-minded, which creates safety for others, and I take bets once I’m informed and they’re needed.
Belief: You must be a horse with blinders, maintaining deep focus for a long time.

Self-critique: I’m distracted to the point of procrastination & lack of prioritization.

Reframe: I’m creative & always think of new ideas. This can be maximized if I find a great operator.
Belief: Being an entrepreneur means spending time on things you don’t enjoy.

Self-critique: I don’t work hard on things that are not interesting to me.

Reframe: My body keeps the score and allows me to get excited about the journey when the destination aligns with my values.
Belief: A great CEO must scale from idea to IPO.

Self-critique: I didn't scale from 0-to-100 so I'm not great.

Reframe: I LOVE finding problems & building from scratch to flex my strengths: creativity, marketing, sales. I'm grateful to have partners who are A+ Stage 2 CEOs.
Belief: Skepticism/paranoia is a must to be a strong operator.

Self-critique: I’m too tolerant which prevents me from building high-functioning businesses.

Reframe: A bomb-sniffing dog of business is key to find cracks before they become craters, but it doesn’t have to be me.
Belief: Great leaders don’t share ideas until they’re fully baked.

Self-critique: I share my ideas frequently which can appear as lacking thoughtfulness.

Reframe: People refine their thoughts differently. Some think to themselves & some talk to others. I’m in the latter camp.
Belief: You’re only as relevant as your last win.

Self-critique: I don’t know if I want to build another biz. And if I don't, I fear irrelevancy.

Reframe: Relevancy is a fools errand and choices I make should be driven more by intrinsic values than extrinsic perception.
Belief: You can't run a business emotionally.

Self-critique: I avoid confrontation because I don't like hurting others.

Reframe: Empathy is a gift. But it must be balanced by pragmatism & honesty. Otherwise you do a disservice to your business and employees’ careers.
Those were 8 examples of reframing self-hate into self-love as a Founder.

Follow me @businessbarista for threads on the entrepreneurial journey.
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