I'm not here to solve a puzzle, I'm here to make an original painting

You've read or written a million times these industry clichés:

• Fail fast, fail often
• Fail forward
• Move fast and break things
• Pivot or die

And the list goes on

I don't know about you, but I'd be okay if I never read a similar phrase again in my life. It's not that they're wrong. They try to compress many truths into 3 to 5 words. But the compression isn't lossless, and the message can't be applied everywhere. It's not enough to just follow these concepts blindly. You have to understand why they exist. Otherwise, you'll most probably create a culture of chaos in your company and in your mind.

In order to begin an entrepreneurial journey, you have to have a vision and you have to be optimistic about the future. That's why everyone preaches to "fail fast", because knowing if your vision is a delusion as early as possible is critical. You want the minimum possible investment of time and money to get that answer. But not less.

Do you see the contradiction here? You have to exist in a conflicting state. Be optimistic about the future, but not that optimistic because you'll probably fail. So don't over-invest. But still stay optimistic that eventually you'll succeed, so don't let failure crush you. This isn't a simple way to live your life. This is a sophisticated state of existence. It's not easy.

Your vision is somehow a prediction. You predict that the thing you're making will appeal to a certain number and type of customers, at a specific point in time. This looks like a long shot regardless of the content of your vision.

The internal conflicts are all over the place. You have to have passion and believe in your vision, otherwise, why bother? But at the same time, you have to be open to the fact that you could be delusional or simply wrong.

The optimistic dreamer and the cautious realist

The optimistic dreamer and the cautious realist should live together and be productive. Good luck. Even if you know that this is the way to go, it's not easy to be in that position and constantly try to balance.

Starting something new means that you're passionate about your vision. But at the same time, they tell you that you have to be ready to pivot. And pivot, sometimes, means that maybe you have to compromise or adapt to something that you're not that passionate about. But hey, you did this to win, right?

One of the reasons I chose to be an entrepreneur is because of the freedom. The freedom to envision and build things. I'm sure that other people will have a different set of priorities. And that's the wonderful thing about entrepreneurship. You get to pave your own path. You get to travel your own journey.

All these clichés certainly compress a lot of wisdom, and although I have an aversion to buzzwords, I always try to unpack them and find the essence of them. There's so much knowledge out there, and I want to be open, to learn and enrich myself and my philosophy. But at the same time, I refuse to follow "orders".

I'm not here to solve a puzzle, I'm here to make an original painting.