The Entrepreneur's Sunken Place: Lost Momentum in a Startup (AKA Hell)

One day, I just woke up and realized something harsh: each week I do the bare minimum is actually worse than doing nothing. Because at least doing nothing allows things to fall apart quickly. Doing the minimum just prolongs the failure and feeds the illusion of action.

Over the past five years, my company—at least from an insider’s perspective, has been stagnant. And the hardest part is how long it took me to admit that. I told myself I was moving forward, staying afloat, staying in the game. But really, I was standing still. Worse—I was lying to myself.

Then, sooner or later—hopefully sooner—you wake up. And when you do, the pain hits hard. You realize you’ve wasted days, weeks, months, even years living in a delusion. And that realization is physically sickening especially when you used to be someone with ambition. Someone who took things seriously, who showed up, stayed up, and followed through, who had thicker skin and a fire that couldn’t be put out. Now, you look in the mirror and see a hollow version of the person you were on the path to becoming.

And you're left with a brutal choice:

• Walk away. Accept that this path isn’t for you and find another.

• Or face it head-on. Accept that becoming the person you want to be only happens through doing the hard, thankless work.

  
  

One of the biggest realizations I’ve had in my 20s is that time is fragile—and life demands ambition. You must have ambition. Even if it’s rooted in family, in art, in something personal. You must have a goal you’re chasing every single day. Avoiding the work is just avoiding life. And it’s not just about your career—it's your relationships, your health, your hobbies, your inner world. You need something you’re working toward. Because the mind needs a challenge. And challenges are what keep you alive.

And what fuels all of that? Momentum.

Momentum is a gift—but it’s fragile. It needs to be fed. And it feeds off the small wins. You have to celebrate them. Even the ones that feel insignificant. Calloused hands that no longer hurt. A task you finished faster and better. One new follower. A tiny bump in your average viewership. That’s momentum. That’s everything. Because momentum isn’t about success or money or fame. Momentum is the reward for doing the work. If you diminish your small wins, you start pouring water over the fire that keeps you going. You disrespect your dreams.

And here’s the trap: when momentum shows up, your habits have to change with it. More meetings? Get up earlier. More people in your circle? You have to be intentional about nurturing those relationships. More money? You need to be even more focused about how it’s spent, how it’s spread, how it’s grown. Wanting more means doing more—no ifs, ands, or buts about it.

But it gets harder when you’re alone in it. I’ve found that when ambitious young people aren’t surrounded by other ambitious people—people who are taking real action—it kills their fire. There’s a reason they say, “Bad association spoils useful habits.” But bad association doesn’t always mean toxic or negative. Sometimes it’s just misaligned. People whose lives, goals, values—and most importantly their actions—don’t reflect yours.

They’re not bad people. They’re just bad for you. Just like in love: someone can be great, just not the right match. The same goes for your circle. Your environment matters. If it doesn’t feed your momentum, it’s stalling it.

So whatever you do—whether it’s your business, your art, your relationships, your legacy—don’t lose your momentum. It’s the quiet, invisible force that turns dreams into reality. It’s the reward that only you can see, only you can feel, and only you can truly understand—because only you know how hard you had to work to build it.