Become pen pals with another startup founder.

Being a founder is like drinking from a firehose. There's always so much to do. This makes it difficult to sit down, take a deep breath, and reflect.

Reflection is incredibly important though. And as they say, if you fill your jar with pebbles, there will never be room for the stones. Having a pen pal that you write to once a month ensures that this "reflection stone" never gets deprioritized.

• You want your investors to see you as a capable leader.
• You want your team to feel optimistic about your company's future.
• You don't want your friends, family or peers to think you're an imposter.
• Your therapist is nice, but doesn't actually understand what you're going through.

Sometimes a stranger across the ocean is just what the doctor ordered.

Do you shy away from spending time on things you don't like, such as marketing or sales? Do you do things you don't endorse, such as spending way too long before deciding to ship?

What if you knew you had to write to your pen pal every 30 days? Maybe that'd keep you accountable.

Here's a problem for you: build an organization that transforms thousands of homeless people, ex-cons, and recovering drug addicts into productive members of society. OK, now do it with no money and no staff. And achieve a >90% success rate. While you're at it, make the organization double as a business that provides valuable services to the community. And make the whole thing self-sustaining.

Amazingly, Mimi Silbert accomplished this very feat. She's been at it for 35 years and her organization is called the Delancey Street Foundation.

Her secret? Helping.

Instead of having the members being passive recipients (welfare, treatment, punishment, analysis), have them actively help others who are in need.