Live Fast, Die Young?

It doesn’t have to be that way.

It is often said that entrepreneurs are the new rock stars.

This is typically meant in terms of fame and fortune, however, I see a more worrying similarity.

Yesterday was my last day as a 27 year old.

It’s an age that has become synonymous in recent years with tragic deaths of extremely talented, yet troubled, iconic musicians, with Jim Morrison, Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, Kurt Cobain and Amy Winehouse all being “members” of the infamous 27 club.

These icons were all people who lived on the edge, worked relentlessly, were devoted to their dreams and regularly bared themselves and their work to thousands of people, and opened themselves up to criticism and rejection on a daily basis.

Sound familiar?

Just like rock stars, entrepreneurs can be surrounded by so many people yet feel so alone at the same time.

It can be hard for people not inhabiting the same environment to fully understand the type of lives we lead and the pressures that come with it.

At the beginning of this year we lost Aaron Swartz in tragic circumstances, and there have been other entrepreneurial losses both high and low profile in recent times.

Over the course of this year, several people in my own network have expressed their difficulties in coping with the many lows and setbacks that we inevitably experience on a regular basis, and have talked of mental stupors that they have had difficulty climbing out of.

I can guarantee you that there are also people in your network who have been through an equally dark time or have experienced troubling thoughts.

You may even be one of them.

While we revel in the comparison with rock stars during the highs, we should not forget that the closest comparisons we have in common with them are the lows.

We have a responsibility to each other to talk more openly about our failures, our worries, and our struggles, and to share and support each other through these times.

Let’s not let our art become synonymous with young and tragic deaths, but rather an art that supports the members of its community who are going through a bad time, and help them come out the other side.

If you would like to talk about this topic further then I can be found on Twitter @neilswmurray