The Art of Making Sh!t Up

Chapter 13Pain Tolerance

What is your pain tolerance? What is your pain tolerance for missing out on social events? From hanging out with your friends? From your girlfriend or boyfriend being mad at you because you aren't spending enough time with them? From your parents or your spouse or other loved ones wondering when you're going to give up this crazy pipe dream and do something productive with your life? For criticism, for doubt? For embarrassment and hurt egos? How much pain can you deal with – emotional psychological spiritual, and sometimes even physical? That was a real bummer of a paragraph, huh?

I believe that pain tolerance or lack thereof directly correlates to success or failure in the long run in any endeavor we decide to embark upon. Everybody has ideas. Tons and tons of people hustle and work hard. You can always be sure that there are more talented, smarter, more connected, better‐capitalized people than you.

One of the key things that sets me apart from others is my tolerance for pain. As you try to do something original or innovative, you are going to be faced with all of the scenarios that I mentioned above. What I have seen over the course of my career is that the people who could push through these painful situations have been the ones who more often than not come out on the other side and find success.

This is not just metaphorical pain that I am talking about. This is pain that you really feel. When your boyfriend or girlfriend is mad at you because you ...