Читать книгу The Resilient Founder - Mahendra Ramsinghani - Страница 21

Here, in this book, you will hear the voices of the entrepreneurs and founders who struggle and persevere. Psychology, depression, and therapy are messy, complex topics. I am no expert on these. In researching and writing about these, I did my best to keep the reader's interest front and center at all times. Some insights we have gathered from entrepreneurs may seem simplistic – motherhood and apple pie. Eat healthy food. Cut down on coffee. Get enough sleep. Critics might be tempted to dismiss these as obvious, but ask those consumed by the start-up frenzy. Our passion can devour us. Each day, we gradually chip away at our own bodies and psyches. And then all of a sudden, we are in a full-blown crisis.

Besides the basics, we have covered some additional topics that offer insights into how we might operate. If you find that some topics are not as in-depth as it might be, please know that I am painfully aware of this deficiency. I am sure each chapter could have been its own book of sorts. Striking a balance between depth and breadth is always an issue for writers. Most certainly, this book is neither a quick-fix five-step guide to nirvana, nor has it any instant answers. Unlike a bathrobe, there is no one-size-fits-all approach to our mental health challenges. As much as we want the world to fall in neat, four-quadrant boxes, it does not.

Writing about this topic caused me enough angst and anxiety, paralyzing at times. As T. S. Eliot once wrote, “Words strain, crack and sometimes break under the burden.” I stalled several times, and the pandemic did not help either. The gentle nudging, kindness, and love of a few soulmates kept me going – that, combined with the strength of the purpose. As I plodded through this journey and often wandered or got lost, all I had to do was to listen and respond to all that is around me – to a suicide; and one more suicide; to the unstated anger; the sighs; the sobs; the quivering hands, fluttery eyes, and jittery body language; to the soft pain that permeated the fundraising pitches and the impatient board rooms. Above all, the cry of those souls in silent anguish.

My sincere prayer is that entrepreneurs can use this book to build their awareness about their own psychological capital, develop resilience, and strengthen their internal resources with the tools and guideposts. Or as Emily Dickinson once wrote:

If I can ease one life the aching, Or cool one pain …

then this book would not be in vain.