Your Heroes Show Which Way You’re Facing

Who are my heroes?

This was the question that made Derek Sivers realize that he wanted to be a writer rather than a programmer or entrepreneur.

I’ve been asking myself the same question since.

I say I’m into venture capital and product management. But am I really?

Ask me a few years ago who were my heroes. And I probably would’ve named some silicon valley venture capitalist, or a twenty-something tech entrepreneur.

But who are my heroes now?

The people I admire most… The people I’d most like to meet… The people I’d most like to be are not venture capitalists, and not product managers — they’re artists.

Entrepreneurs, writers, movie directors, chefs, musicians, dancers, fashion designers, I can keep going. But I think art has a broader definition. Art is what we do when we feel truly alive, irrespective of the craft.

And to be an artist, to feel truly alive, that’s what I really want.