“Yellow car!” Usually, this declaration is accompanied by a playful swat from my daughter. Once we got playing this game, of who can spot a yellow car first, I began noticing a lot more yellow cars out there. I’m sure they were there all along but just that I never paid attention. Much like that – once I met Richa Singh – founder of yourdost.com, a company that helps young people such as students find the help they need, typically counseling or other support for their mental well-being, I’ve been more aware of issues surrounding mental health.
A little while ago, I’d written about Brad Feld, well-known venture capitalist, and blogger who’s brought the discussion around mental health and entrepreneurs center stage. As I continued to explore some of the resources Brad spoke about, I ran across this fascinating video by Dr. Lloyd Sederer, Medical Director of the New York State Office of Mental Health. What struck me about this particular video, was how the four things he recommends for a family on how to deal with mental health is directly applicable to entrepreneurship itself. Here are the four key points that he makes.
- Don’t go it alone “Why me or why us?” Is a question that both entrepreneurs and families raise. Worse yet if there’s fear, shame or stigma – we try to handle it alone. Don’t. Whether doctors or counselors for mental health or mentors and other entrepreneurs for startups – seek help, talk to them and don’t go it alone. It will make the journey a lot easier.
- Don’t get into fights “Don’t be like your brother. Get a good job” – this is an actual quote an entrepreneur reported his family telling his sister. This is just as true within companies and partners as it with families. Little good is likely to come out of it. As Dr. Sederer puts it, listening and leverage are alternatives to fighting
- Learn the rules & bend them While this is particularly relevant to dealing with the US medical – mental health – system, it’s true to any bureaucracy that you deal with – as people and as entrepreneurs. Getting frustrated or being ignorant is only likely cause further unhappiness & stress.
- Prepare for a marathon, not a sprint While most entrepreneurs tend to be optimists, often youth or inexperience leaves them unprepared for the length of the journey. Not only do most firms struggle or outright fail, even success takes time. The average software product company takes 7-8 years to get to $50M in revenue – so prepare psychologically and emotionally for the long haul.
Check out the video and share. I’d love to hear your thoughts.
