On August 16th at 9:55am I completed a 24 hour, 75 mile journey between Stevens Pass and Snoqualmie Pass, running over 16,000 feet of elevation gain, through the night, self supported, totally relying on myself. It was incredibly lonely but I never felt more alive in my life. At 9:55am on August 16th I cried like I've never cried before. Some of it was from pain but 90% of it was from the pure joy of completing a goal, of doing something that seemed impossible, of stretching myself to do more than I ever could have imagined.

Welcome to entrepreneurship, one of the lonely roads that will enliven your spirit, your sense of adventure, your desire to succeed, and test your metal like never before.

The good news is that you are surrounded by people that care about you. Smart mentors, this community. We want you to be successful because you are going to change the world. Even the best among you benefit from coaching.

I have found great support in the Entrepreneur Organization. In 2007 I was out to lunch with Adam Brotman who is now famously the CDO at Starbucks. Back then he was the founder of Play Network. I was lamenting about some issues I was having with shareholders. He proceeded to share his experience which was nearly identical to my own. He said -- Russell, you need to join EO, We all deal with this stuff regardless of industry. I applied immediately. Today, EO is a community of 9,000 founder/co-founders throughout the world in over 150 chapters doing >$1 million in revenue that are here to create the most influential group of entrepreneurs on the planet. It is a community of peers that are sharing experiences, not giving advice. My most recent presentation to my peers: "Being Awesome -- how to create the triggers in your life to reinforce your greatness -- When the chips feel down, how do you remind yourself that you really are very lucky?

Know whose problem you are trying to solve. Is your customer the one who is paying you or the end user you are trying to serve?

#4: A mantra I hear all the time from my coach and a huge challenge for entrepreneurs. Nail it is getting referencable validation that you've built a product that a customer is willing to pay for because you have solved a problem. Only then should you scale. Too many companies scale prematurely, haven't validated the product and then lose control.

There is a classic product evolution that is too often short circuited. Where pilots move scale before they've nailed it, raise a ton of money and then can't scale with confidence because they missed a critical step.

#2: Everything for me comes down to a core principal that an organizations is a system, one that has and needs to acquire energy to survive and one that needs to eliminate or mitigate entropy, that which is destroying a structure over time. In a finite system, maximize energy. To grow the system, get more. Entropy comes from many place -- your family life, personnel issues, conflicting strategies. For me, it was such a simple model. I know when I have entropy -- I feel it in my gut. Own it. Understand it. Take action.

#3: My genius zone is at the vector of happiness and productivity -- how I am, how I want to be, and how others want me to be -- If perfectly aligned, I'm in my zone. It is that place where I have a unique ability to perform at a high level and I get energy -- I need to spend 80% of my time in my zone. For me, that's doing deals -- I love the art of the deal, the thrill of the hunt, the close and the satisfaction.

#5: Be aware of the leadership forces required in your organization at different times. 4 Forces at work are Producer (What), Stabilizer (How), Unifier (Who), and Innovator (Why Not?). Early stage is High innovator. Scaling/growth requires a stabilizer. Weighting your organization too heavily in one area will lead to sub-optimal results

Say No 20-30x more often than you say yes

Know which questions you are trying to answer. I don't think we've been asking the right questions.

#6: Be very careful about the early customers you work with. These early customers become your launchpad or your demise. They need to be ready to take a leap with you. If they are not, but you sold them well, they are going to create too much entropy. You need a customer that wants to collaborate with you, not dictate your product for their unique circumstance. Being very aware of where interests align and diverge is critical.

#1: Lots of forces try to undermine your confidence as an entrepreneur. It takes great fortitude to withstand the naysayers, the "no's". It's easy as a start-up to be the scapegoat if something doesn't go well. We can either choose to take on those projected beliefs or resist them and grab hold of perceptions that advance our cause. This is not about rose colored glasses but it is about conviction.

At 6am when the sun was coming up over the Cascades the only thing I was thinking about was....I am done. Now, I can't wait to get back out there and do it again.

Why not us? All of us have the fortitude to success. I've made mistakes along the way. Learn from them as I've learned from others.