[Guest article by Aditya Rao, who sold his startup, superchooha and now works for another startup. He shares an interesting and a practical aspect of the entrepreneurial journey.]
The song Wish You Were Here has influence me a lot in recent times, and I actually took a career decision lately solely based on these classic lines (my ex-Superchooha colleagues will vouch for the A4 poster of the lyrics that used to hang on our notice board).
Goes to show that music is much more than rhythm, it is something which encompasses your soul. It is poetry and it is love.
FYI, I am joining an early stage startup in Pune called Next Leap as a Product and Marketing Manager. Loads to learn and loads to do. Interesting times are up ahead. Anyways, so hear out this interesting story –
So there you are. You have sold off your fledgling 1 year old startup (albeit not on your terms i.e. a distress sale) and you have joined a nice paying job. You get up every morning.
You fight to get into a rickshaw. You fight to get into the local train. You fight to find breathing space in the train. You fight against the stem of 9 AM morning office crowd to reach your office.
And then, when you think that all these fights would be worth the work that you are going to do,
You have to now fight to get any work done. You try to go around bureaucratic processes and egos. You fight against fixed mindsets. You fight against crumbling organisational structures. You fight with yourself, convincing your other half to keep going. You fight against hope that one day you will win this war. And before you realise it, the day is already over.
For those who are lucky, they do not have to fight wars inside workplaces. They get a smooth ride, loads of perks, easy decisions to make and break, and a monthly salary at the end of 30 days. And before they know it, the salary is the monthly dose of addiction they can not let go of. Soon enough,
They can not tell – Heaven from hell, and Blue skies from pain…
They have traded – Heroes for ghosts, and Hot ashes for trees…
… most of us at one point in life can associate with this. But you know it’s gotten really bad when you ask yourself the following question and you are ashamed of the answer –
Did you exchange … A walk on part in the war,
For the lead role in a cage?
So the next time you feel down in the dumps, and you think the world is unfair, you listen to this song and take solace in the fact that you are fighting wars that are worth fighting for.
