Recently I was sitting outside at a restaurant and my ears perked up when the gentleman at the table behind me started talking about entrepreneurs with his guest. When pressed by his companion as to what makes for a successful entrepreneur he replied, “Be single-minded long enough to get lucky.”
This phrase has been on my mind ever since hearing it.
Single-mindedness is a critical trait of entrepreneurs. Adversity, ups and downs, and continuous challenges are part of the startup experience. Most people, faced with regular setbacks, give up and move on. Irrational persistence is one of the most distinguishing entrepreneur characteristics.
Then, combine single-mindedness with longevity — persistence over a long period of time, makes for an even more remarkable, and rare, combination. The longer the time, the more people are going to give up, especially when core milestones like product/market fit or a repeatable customer acquisition process haven’t been achieved.
As much as we like to think our intelligence and effort determines success, there is a large element of luck. Timing, people, geography, etc. plays a role in the size and scale of success — components outside the control of the entrepreneur. I’ve seen people that are incredibly smart try and fail as entrepreneurs. I’ve seen people that are incredibly hard workers try and fail as entrepreneurs. From being at the right place at the right time, fired from a job and making the leap, hired into a certain industry at an early age, or some life event, luck plays a role.
The next time an entrepreneur asks what it takes to be successful, consider the idea, “be single-minded long enough to get lucky.”
Entrepreneur
via https://www.aiupnow.com
David Cummings, Khareem Sudlow
