Entrepreneurs are hustlers, multitaskers and at least slightly hyper — go, go, go and sleep deprived.

The number of projects in full motion simultaneously would cause a non-entrepreneur to have stress attacks. For many, no two projects are in the same stages. A drawing illustrating active phases would replicate a spaghetti hurricane model five days before landfall.

A seasoned and successful entrepreneur is in control of a limited number of projects, their next moves, and is prepared for setbacks. But how many is enough, and when do we take inventory and say, “Whoa, this is too much?”

When that happens, which projects do we stop, put aside and shelve to the later or never library? Answering those questions is climbing the ladder of professional development. The goal is to strive for absolute perfection, but also knowing that will never be achieved. It’s much like the shooting for the stars analogy. We’ve been taught that rule since we were kids, and after years of practicing, we realize the stars will always be just beyond our reach.

Early in our careers, we tend to take on more projects than humanly possible to adequately manage. With age and, yes, some failures, we realize our limit. Another level of professional development is the next time we get more than five hours of sleep. We remember past lessons of not overloading ourselves with more than we can handle.

By nature, entrepreneurs take a loss very hard but are also extra celebratory with successes. Also within the successful entrepreneur’s repertoire is brief sulking and speedy recovery. That trait also determines the difference between a newbie and a veteran.

With years of some wins and some losses we learn very valuable lessons, including to not put too many eggs in the basket at one time. When we overload ourselves, cracked eggs (especially these days) could be very expensive, in many ways. Pursuing our passion or multiple passions must be balanced with how many passions can be successfully managed simultaneously.

We try very carefully to not stack eggs. There’s a reason, actually multiple reasons, each egg in the carton is separated. Rio Grande Valley entrepreneurs, let’s avoid messes and not put 18 eggs in a dozen carton.

We are one. We are the Rio Grande Valley.