These 21 heard-earned lessons Andrew has learned along the way to becoming a successful entrepreneur.

This week I am excerpting a chapter from The Craftsman Founder Manifesto.

There is a siren’s song inside all founders that can lead you into the rocky cliffs of depression. It’s an inner voice that frequently says mean and terrible things. It’s an inner bully. You might think:

“You are too stupid to start a company. Plus, your idea sucks and nobody wants to use it. How long have you been trying to get attention for this? Can’t you just give up now? Call it quits. Just do what everyone else does. Everyone’s laughing and making fun of you behind your back. Stop embarrassing yourself.”

Fortunes come and go. Building startups is a long game. It is not long on money. You might win money in one startup, then invest it all and lose it the next startup. Startups are long on character. This is the dirty little secret nobody tells you up front: the spoils go to those left standing.

The Underwriting: Get Rich, Get Laid, Get Even is Michelle Miller's new book. It is described as The Social Network meets The Wolf of Wall Street, as it takes you behind closed doors into a post-recession world of sex scandals, power plays, and underhanded dealings.