In so many ways, the world affirmed this way of being. I was rewarded with promotions. Years later, and with the benefit of thousands of hours of introspection, I understand why the world affirmed this way of being. When I moved fast, when I spent my days not truly occupying my life, not standing still, not being real, I found it easier to live in accordance with other people’s expectations. By not standing still, I was able to be the object of everyone else’s projections of who and what I should be. Too busy to live my own life, I took direction from the affirmations of others.

These traits—insatiable curiosity, a driving need for speed, the ability to read people, and the ability to anticipate problems before they arise—led others to view me as a rising star, a wunderkind. Quite a transition for a guy who, only a few years before, had been a psych patient in a locked ward.

And yet, even as I progressed in my career, the beads-of-sweat years continued.

More important, I explain, it’s proof that you learned the most important skill any human needs: survival.

By admitting our doubts, we get to enjoy one of the great gifts of being human: belonging.

When her pillar-of-the-community father left the family (no doubt in pursuit of his own love, safety, and belonging), she took on the burden of caring for her mother and brother. Yet another hallmark of the entrepreneur; yet another instance of premature promotion into adulthood.