Awesome, this is extremely relevant. I've been working with my other co-founder since mid-2009. I've since graduated, lived in China for 4 months, turned down multiple Master's programs, gotten married, and turned down job offers both in the US and abroad. All because of the reasons he mentioned...it may be difficult, but the alternatives are surely not for me.<p>And there's no stressing how difficult it is...emotionally, physically. 100 hour weeks, not sleeping for days before a launch, being away from family, etc. My wife lives 8000 miles away and if I wasn't working on a start-up we could be in the same place. But at the end of the day, I wouldn't change a single thing. I love what I do.
Really inspiring post. Motivation persistence seems really important in the long run. You sometime will loose your motivation, but as long as you keep doing it, your chances to succeed increases.
So true. If you focus on the payday you lose, if you focus on the product you <i>might</i> win. The only way to win every time is to relish in the journey.