Running a startup is hard. It doesn’t matter if you’re fresh out of the entrepreneurial gate, or if you have a few years’ experience under your belt – it’s grueling. The hours are long, the peaks and valleys come in extremes, and it doesn’t help that your friends and family often have a difficult time relating to your roller coaster of emotions or why you’re always strapped to your desk. It’s enough to drive anyone a little batty.
But if you want to continue to grow your business, while still functioning in normal society, you have to hang onto that sanity. Here are a few tips to help.
Stay focused on your mission – It’s easy to get caught up in the chaos, but you started this business for a reason. There was something you thought you could provide, or something you wanted to do. Take time each week to remember what that was instead of becoming consumed in the meetings, the details, the projects – all of it.
Your mission is what matters and it’s what everything else in your day should be working to build. Ask yourself: Who do you want to be? Where are you trying to go? How are you working toward getting there?
If sometimes you find yourself pulling away from your core mission, reach out to people who can help you get it back. By commiserating, people are able to stay focused on why they’re doing this, and put everything else into perspective.
more: http://venturebeat.com/2011/06/09/staying-sane-in-a-startup/
BRANDING, BETTERED. 