Gary Ong | October 20th, 2021

Have you ever thrown a penny into a well and made a wish? I have, but we don’t do it assuming the wish will come true. It’s something we do for fun and then get surprised if somehow that wish comes true. Now imagine if what you threw in isn’t a penny but your life’s work. What would you do then? You might find yourself staring at the still waters at night hoping a magical fish will pop up to grant you that wish.

Working at a startup can often feel like you’re throwing labor into a well wondering if you will ever see the fruits of your labor. We spend days, and weeks working on a promising technical path just to find out 2 months later that the performance won’t be good enough. On other days, we spend months working on technoeconomic models just to have to scrap the model half a year later because of a pivot. Then, we spend months and years cultivating relationships with stakeholders and investors never knowing if we can truly count on those relationships when the difficult times come to pass. In short, you feel like you are doing a lot of work every day, week and month, but there is nothing to show for it. The effort seems futile, and some days, you might even want to quit.

When I feel like quitting, I often go back to the parable of the crow seeking water. What you are doing isn’t throwing pennies hoping for a wish. You’re trying to reach for water in a well but you don’t have rope or a bucket. So you start dropping pebbles. Every pebble you add brings the water just a little closer. You may not see it rising, but it’s rising. It’s an exercise of patience and consistency. Just make sure you don’t quit until you see water. Don’t forget that one day as you are searching for pebbles, you might also find a straw.