The world’s current economic model is an environmental global suicide pact that will result in disaster if it isn’t reformed.
Ban Ki-moon, UN secretary general.
Month: January 2011
The sad truth about entrepreneurship
The sad truth about entrepreneurship
The fear never goes away.
You just get better at dealing with it.
I was just as afraid when I started my fifth company as I was when I started my first one. In fact, I was probably more afraid, because I understood how truly difficult it is to build a business from scratch.
But it didn’t stop me, and really, I think that’s what defines people we call heroes. They’re just as afraid as anyone else, but they keep going anyway.
They’re willing to lie in bed, sweating and worrying about how they’ll pay the bills.
They’re willing to do the unpopular thing and for everyone to think they’re an ass.
They’re willing to invest years of their life into a product, only to see it flop and have to start over again.
It’s not because they’re special. They just know the price, and they’re willing to pay it.
The Cowardly Lion’s Guide to Conquering Your Entrepreneurial Fears
Anxieties that harass you
Many of the anxieties that harass you are superfluous: being but creatures of your own fancy, you can rid yourself of them and expand into an ampler region, letting your thought sweep over the entire universe, contemplating the illimitable tracts of eternity.
Marcus Aurelius
A certain degree of madness
As any successful entrepreneur will tell you, building companies from scratch requires a certain degree of madness that few people possess.
Itching for you to show up
Alerting a market segment that isn’t looking is a thousand times harder than activating a segment that just can’t wait for your arrival. Since it’s your choice, since the segment is up to you, why not pick one that is itching for you to show up?
Until one is committed
Until one is committed, there is hesitancy, the chance to draw back, always ineffectiveness. Concerning all acts of initiative (and creation), there is one elementary truth, the ignorance of which kills countless ideas and splendid plans: that the moment one definitely commits oneself, then Providence moves too. All sorts of things occur to help one that would never otherwise have occurred. A whole stream of events issues from the decision, raising in one’s favour all manner of unforeseen incidents and meetings and material assistance, which no man could have dreamt would have come his way. I have learned a deep respect for one of Goethe’s couplets: Whatever you can do, or dream you can, begin it. Boldness has genius, power, and magic in it!
William Hutchinson Murray (1913-1996), from his 1951 book: The Scottish Himalayan Expedition.
Put yourself on the line
Hiding behind your Twitter avatar and telling the world how terrible everything is is pretty easy. It’s even funny sometimes. Putting yourself on the line and making something original is really hard work. Which one do you want to be. Which one deserves our respect and attention?
37signals.com/svn/posts/2732-there-is-no-place-for-just-shitting-all-over-other-peoples-work