If everyone smart could spend 10 years and hit it with startups, then, well, things would look a lot different and no one would choose a normal job until their

If everyone smart could spend 10 years and hit it with startups, then, well, things would look a lot different and no one would choose a normal job until their 40s, and nearly everyone would have made it with a startup and be wealthy. That's obviously not reality so the 10 years = success thing is just a wrong idea. It doesn't mean there's anything wrong with you, and it could even be pure luck! If you've been at work every day for that long, a: cut back the hours and b: go disconnect. Take a week or a month or whatever, and just don't connect to the Internet. (It gets easier after ~3 days.) Reflect on things. Another trick I've used is to go consulting for a bit. Work on somebody else's stuff, deal with their problems, collect cash. Importantly: Get a job where you're not shouldering the cognitive burden of their business (so, not a CTO role, or Lead Technical Architect Designer Whatever). Look for a more 9-5 thing. Eventually you'll start feeling the urge to go do your own thing and switch back.