Meet them at the door laughing and invite them in.

I’ve worked in startups and studied the game over my 30+ years in tech. I know the inevitable ups and downs all too well, but they hit differently as a founder. Of all the posts and think pieces I’ve read since starting my journey, this 13th century(!!) poem from Jalāl al-Dīn Muḥammad Rūmī, or Rumi for short, translated by Coleman Barks, resonates with me most:

This being human is a guest house.
Every morning a new arrival.

A joy, a depression, a meanness,
some momentary awareness comes
as an unexpected visitor.

Welcome and entertain them all!
Even if they’re a crowd of sorrows,
who violently sweep your house
empty of its furniture,
still, treat each guest honorably.
He may be clearing you out
for some new delight.

The dark thought, the shame, the malice,
meet them at the door laughing,
and invite them in.

Be grateful for whoever comes,
because each has been sent
as a guide from beyond.

And so I’m learning to let everything in, especially the lows and not only the highs. Each one is a guide from beyond.