I’ve been through many hype cycles in my lifetime:

• Building a taboo-breaking sex education company in India – and starring on an entire season of a reality show (reaching 10m viewers.) (Personal identity hype cycle)
• Getting into three accelerators with less than a 1% acceptance rate in the span of one year (Accelerator hype cycle)
• Getting featured in the press eight times within one year, including CNBC (Press hype cycle)
• Giving my first TEDx talk and being flown to NYC to pitch before I had a full prototype

Etc. You get it.

I’ve also been through extended periods of drought, uncertainty, and absolute, all-consuming stillness.

Here’s what I know to be true

From building a venture that moved hearts and minds, partnered with the largest corporation in the country, and eventually seeded cultural change, within the span of three years:

1. The quieter and more boring your environment is – you’ll get the most important, lightning-level insights at a faster pace. (You need to empty everything out to get the huge upgrades to your psyche, and then to integrate the big pivots.)
2. Limit the number of hours that you grind; rest and relaxation will allow you to know what the Next Big Decision to take is, which is way more productive.
3. Surround yourself with family support – this is a marathon, not a sprint.
4. The startup ecosystem feeds your ego, but not always your bank account – money in the bank usually reflects embodiment – that you have the consistency and groundedness to show up regularly, patiently, and faithfully, to build and sell the product until the thing takes off. If you’re young and inexperienced, hype can actually take you further away from this deeply-rooted day-to-day presence which you should be striving for.
5. People will start to treat you differently – you have to accept this – your path will require you to leave behind your own misconceptions about who you are and what your mission on Earth is (and to leave behind most people.) It will also require you to face hard truths and change yourself.

What does this mean for startups looking to raise capital, get press and visibility, and participate in hype cycles?

• Participate in it with a healthy detachment – don’t seek validation from any of it, or make it mean anything. Remain rooted in your larger vision.
• Silence should be your status quo. (Phone off most of the time, nature, stillness.) This enables you to gracefully and happily participate in the bigger chaos that’s going on.
• Say no to any opportunity that makes you nervous or queasy (in a bad-signal-way, not in an up-leveling way.) Value your “empty space” until the right one comes along.
• Remember that you are the beginning and the end. Your venture came from you, your goals came from you, and your results will come to you when you're ready. Regardless of any external hype, you can’t dependent on anyone else to save you.

I believe we are initiating a new era on our planet, and purpose-driven founders are leading the way. If you are one of them, shouldn’t the way you build also reflect the ethos and values you’re bringing to the world and your industry?

Question everything in your quest to create new systems.

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