I Don’t Believe

My Old Bull Tattoo / Triple Crown in Austin

And fuck you too

I don’t believe.

But, I’ve worked so hard.

I can’t see it.

But, *I* believe so much.

No.

But…What’s wrong with you?

As an entrepreneur, we get told no a lot. A lot. I used to think that my sister, Marissa, who was pursuing an acting career heard no a lot.

But, it wasn’t until I started a company in earnest that I realized I was wrong.

No comes so often and so fast, that I am now numb to it. Most of the time. It still hurts, and it still surprising. There is truly nothing that I can write to explain the feeling of meeting with an investor multiple times, getting nothing but positive feedback to only be told no at the 11th hour with nothing more than a boilerplate response.

The word no isn’t soul crushing. What’s soul crushing is that being told no is so often a softening of the words I don’t believe.

It’s all that we want, even more than changing the world. Is to be believed that we have seen a solution that no one else has seen. To be believed that we are going to do it better.

Just be believed that against all odds, we will figure it out.

On my chest, I have two bull heads tattooed in the style of the Day of the Dead. An old bull and a young bull. It’s my favorite parable.

A young bull and an old bull are sitting on a hill overlooking a field full of cows.

The young bull says to the old bull, “lets run down there and fuck us a cow!”

The old bull, slowly turns to the young bull and replies, “Lets walk down and fuck them all.”

What I love about that story is the belief in his ability that the old bull has. A whole field of cows. All of them.

There is no one in this world that believes more strongly in me than me. But, when someone looks in your eyes, and says they believe you too, and because they believe you they are going to trust you with their money, their data, or their time ….

.… well, when that happens, there is no greater feeling, young bull.