The Resilient Founder Lessons in Endurance from Startup Entrepreneurs 1st Edition by Mahendra Ramsinghani 1119839742 9781119839743

Part I: Running to a Standstill

1 When Suicide Seems Like a Good Option

BREAKING THE TABOO: DISCUSSING SUICIDE

SELF-IMAGE AND INEPTITUDE

DOES OUR ATTITUDE DEFINE OUR OUTCOMES?

NOTES

2 Stepping Back from the Edge

LOOKING FOR CLARITY

NOTE

3 How External Events Trigger Negative Feelings

PERSISTENCE: THE DOUBLE-EDGED SWORD

FOUR TYPES OF STRESSORS

HOW IS THIS THOUGHT HELPING ME?

NOTES

4 Obstacles and Frustrations

BARRIERS TO ENTRY – THE OLD VERSUS THE NEW

RESOURCES VERSUS CONSTRAINTS

PROCESS VERSUS REWARDS

Part II: Understanding Our Psychology

5 Building Our Psychological Quotient

SEEKING A CRAZY KIND OF ADVENTURE

WHEN OUR EMOTIONS CLASH WITH LOGIC

THE THREE REGIONS OF INNER CONFLICT

NOTE

6 Ethics

BUILDING A START-UP WITH A SENSE OF MEANING

ETHICS, MORALITY, RIGHTEOUSNESS, AND SUPEREGO

7 Do the Right Thing

ETHICS AT WORK

GREATEST GOOD FOR THE GREATEST NUMBER

ETHICS AND SOCIAL CHANGE – LESSONS FROM COINBASE

BUILDING AN ETHICAL FRAMEWORK

8 Ego – The Emperor and the Slave

IMPULSES, EGO, AND SUPEREGO

WHY IS EGO NECESSARY IN BUSINESS?

THE EGO AND OUR SELF-IMAGE

NOTES

9 Working with Your Ego

A FOUNDER’S EGO IS ABNORMAL

WHO DOES YOUR EGO SERVE?

THE EGO IS NOT THE ENEMY

10 The Hidden Land of Desires and Motivations

MEET YOUR ID

THE DESIRE TO START SOMETHING UP

OUR HIDDEN DESIRES AND DRIVERS

THE DANGER OF UNMET DESIRES

NOTE

11 Logos and the Mind

THE ANALYTICAL ENGINE OF THE MIND

WHAT IS THE MIND?

THE THREE BROAD FUNCTIONS OF OUR MIND

12 Pathos: Belief Systems

OUR BELIEFS DRIVE OUR BEHAVIORS

OUR BELIEFS DICTATE OUR NARRATIVES

IS AMBITION A VICE OR VIRTUE? IT DEPENDS ON WHAT YOU BELIEVE

13 Putting It All Together

Part III: Reassembling the Furniture

14 Toward Building a Healthy Ego

WHAT IS A HEALTHY EGO?

ARE YOU ABLE TO CONTROL YOUR IMPULSES?

HOW DOES YOUR EGO PROTECT YOU WHEN YOU FEEL UNSAFE?

CAN YOU MASTER YOUR EGO?

NOTE

15 Psychotherapy: An Imperfect History of an Impossible Profession

SIGMUND FREUD: THE PAST CREATES THE FUTURE

CARL JUNG: A LOOK AT THE DARK SIDE

ALFRED ADLER: THE PAST DOES NOT MATTER, JUST FOCUS ON THE PRESENT

16 Fearing Our Own Selves … and Other Mental Blocks

HOW WE RESIST OUR DEVELOPMENT – IGNORANCE AND DENIAL

DISMANTLING THE BLOCKS

MANY DIFFERENT WAYS, ONE DESTINATION

UNCOVER THE HIDDEN AND THE REPRESSED

THE HARD THING ABOUT THERAPY – LETTING THE THERAPIST DRIVE

17 Stages of Therapy

FOUR PHASES OF THERAPY

18 Challenges and Pitfalls in Therapy

THE ROAD TO A HEALTHY MIND IS LONG

19 Medicating Our Way to Recovery

THE MEDICATION DEBATE

MOTIVATIONS, MONEY, AND THE NEED FOR SPEED

TO MEDICATE OR NOT TO MEDICATE IS A LONGSTANDING DEBATE

NOTES

Part IV: These Rituals Worked for Us

20 A Soul Made Cheerful

WORKING ON YOUR INSIDE – THE IMPORTANCE OF SELF-CARE

HOW WE AVOID SELF-CARE

NOTES

21 Prescription 1 – An Organized Diminution of Work

PAUSE, BALANCE, BREATHE

THE FEELING OF NOT DOING

NOTE

22 Prescription 2 – Get Out of Your Head

LESS HEAD, MORE BODY

SILENCING THE INNER CHATTER

MANAGING THE VELCRO OF NEGATIVE EXPERIENCES

CORTISOL, SEROTONIN, AND DOPAMINE – THE MAGIC OF TOUCH

NOTE

23 Prescription 3 – Feeling, Not Thinking

POETRY IS FEELING – NOT THINKING

MUSIC AND MOODS

IN SERVICE OF OTHERS

GRATITUDE WITH PRESENCE

IT’S A MATTER OF TIME – REFLECTIONS AND RUMINATION

24 Prescription 4 – Spirit over Mind

STARING IN THE ABYSS

WHAT DO YOU WORSHIP?

PICK YOUR GODS OR THEY PICK YOU

SEEKING SOLACE

UNDERSTANDING OUR SHADOW SIDE – FEARS, ENVY, RESENTMENT

25 Prescription 5 – A Promise to Yourself

26 The Elements ofa Good Life

Postscript: How to Care for the Broken and the Depressed

TOP REASONS FOUNDERS DO NOT ASK

WHAT DO THE DEPRESSED NEED?

WHAT THE DEPRESSED DO NOT NEED

HOW TO HELP – A FEW GOOD EXAMPLES

NOTES

Appendix I: A Founder’s Mental Health Manifesto

Appendix II: Founders’ Voices and Anonymized Surveys

About the Author

About the Website

Index

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