Justin Vincent

Don’t Confuse Self-Worth With Entrepreneurial Success

I dedicated 15 years to becoming a professional recording artist. My favorite musical time was spent with Doug, Eugene, & JP in the band called Moneypenny (1995-2000). We were predominantly a live band. We regularly played live gigs across Ireland and had huge amounts of fun doing so. We also played national TV and radio a number of times. We released an album and a few singles.

How we looked back in the day:

That was 10 years ago.

I haven’t been able to talk about music since then (until recently).

During that entire musical phase I placed so much of my self-worth on “musical success” that not achieving it was a huge blow.

It’s an important lesson for all want-to-be entrepreneurs.

When we undertake entrepreneurial endeavors we are told to put everything into it.

But how much is too much?

At what point do we draw the line and understand that our own self-worth will never be fulfilled by building a successful business, or by becoming an internet rock star?

I get the feeling this is the central theme of “The Social Network”.

No matter how much success Zuckerberg was able to achieve, no matter how rich he was able to become, he could never get the acceptance he craved from his peers. Finally, he understood this when he became the richest most famous graduate of his college class – yet the one girl he craved to accept him wouldn’t even return his Facebook friend request.