I know, I'm not the first one to note that life isn't fair. (I wrote this post an hour ago and lost it due to a bad wireless Internet connection in my hotel room--how apropos! Here I go again.)
Since Sunday afternoon I've driven about 1,000 miles from Lexington, Kentucky to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, stopping in Kirtland, Ohio and Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. The drive has given me an opportunity for introspection that I don't often get in the office.
As I've been thinking, it occurred to me--really hit me--that life isn't fair. Like most entrepreneurs, I always knew that life wasn't fair to other people--but I think I hoped or believed it would be fair to me. But it's not. I'm not an exception. This will not come as a surprise to you like it did to me.
Entrepreneurs like me, however, generally think that the glass is three-quarters full. That sort of optimism is required for success but also leads to misconceptions like thinking that good guys win, hard work prevails, the best technology leads, slow and sure wins the race and that other such cliches are true.
The problem is, good guys don't always win, hard work doesn't always prevail, the best technology doesn't always even get to market, and no tortoise ever won a 100 meter dash. Sometimes venture capitalists don't fund the deal; sometimes customers don't buy the product and sometimes they don't pay on time when they do buy. The numbers never match the plan and they're rarely better.
That said, there are great successes out there in the world. Some businesses do work. Some entrepreneurs make so much money they become venture capitalists.
Let me offer up my three keys to success--you tell me what you think.
- Persistence: Patience and persistence must certainly be required for success, because no one ever succeeded by quitting.
- Creativity: I have a friend who is fond of saying that if we persist in doing what we've always done, we'll keep getting what we've always gotten. We've got to think outside the box, change it up, tweak it, twist it and, when necessary, turn it upside down.
- Quit whining about how life isn't fair and focus on 1 and 2 above.
Your post is well written and articulates the point appropriately. It hardly lacks shallow insight from someone such as myself, but the timing happened to catch my eye. I too have recently come to an acute understanding of how unfair life can be. All the education and preparation in the world do not guarantee success, whether defined by a successful entrepreneurial venture, the abundance of one’s toys, admittance to the choice graduate school or a beautiful family. What I can say is that life is too short to do something that you can’t enjoy. You may not enjoy every day, week, month, or (God forbid) year, but you can love what you do. If not, it’s probably time to consider another path.
I do agree that persistence is among the highest virtues to an entrepreneur. It takes a great deal of courage and strength to dust yourself off time and time again.
Stay the course, but be sure that you continue to love what you do.
Posted by: Matt | July 19, 2006 9:33 AM | Permalink to Comment