Why Startups Fail
Here's one way.
Take Billy.
Billy's picking up a basketball for the first time.
He takes his first shot. He misses.
- "IM NOT GOOD AT THIS!" he screams. But, Fichael Bordan, a basketball superstar, slappppppss him.
KEEP SHOOTING SON.
- So, Billy keeps shooting. And shooting. And shooting.
Until he gets better. And better. And better. And, eventually, he makes his basketball team.
His teams KICKS EVERY TEAM'S ASS during season. "We can win the championship," Billy tells his team.
The Championship Game Happens
Billy and his team lead The Rabbits by 10 points with one quarter remaining.
The Rabbits, led by their all-star backcourt, jump on Billy's team, scoring a bunch of points to tie the game.
Ten seconds left.
It's Billy's chance to be the hero.
Little Susie inbounds the ball to Billy. Billy takes the ball to midcourt when OH NOES OH NOES OH NOES
THE RABBITS STEAL THE BALL FROM BILLY AND SCORE. BILLY'S TEAM LOSES. OH NOES OH NOES OH NOES!
Billy's team loses the championship, and the glories that come with winning it.
Billy's depressed.
He can't think of basketball.
Every little mention of basketball makes him cringe. He destroys everything he owns associated with basketball (trophies, gear, etc .) to make him feel better.
"I quit," Billy tells himself.
- So he quits, and picks up football.
- ...thinking heartbreaks won't happen, obstacles will vanish, and he'll succeed in football without any struggles.
Why Do Entreprenuers Fail?
One heartbreak can cause Entrepreneur Bob to act irrationally, and make him think that every little win that he had in the past is now useless because of one heartbreak.
- That one heartbreak clouds every single-positively-good thing he has achieved up to that point.
It's akin to having a great relationship with somebody ("This person is amazing!") and then breaking up because of one incident ("This person is worthless! How can someone not return a text within X minutes?!?! It's called RESPECT!")
BAM!
- You'll see struggles/obstacles/barriers; don't let them cloud what you've already achieved.
Press on.
Stick to it.
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Posted on January 11