

7 entrepreneurs whose perseverance will inspire you - sbuxrox
http://www.growthink.com/content/7-entrepreneurs-whose-perseverance-will-inspire-you

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davidw
The cynic in me wants to see another article about 7 entrepreneurs whose
dogged determination in following something that turned out to be wrong led to
despair and ruin.

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iamwil
I'd like to see that too. Those would probably be far more useful examples to
compare to the plethora of "he stuck it through and was awesome later". I
think there are lots of people that get stuck in the equivalent of "I'm a
waiter now, but just waiting for my big break" sort of thing for decades in
acting/music/startup thing.

I find these type of stories to be useless, because it doesn't separate the
difference between "those that stuck to it and made it" and those that "stuck
to it and mired in limbo" While both luck and skills play into it, a lot of
people lean too heavily on luck and not enough time developing their skills. I
think it's important to be persistent, but persistent so you get better at
what you do. Be undeniably good, so all it takes is a little luck, not a lot
of luck.

Ironically, there's a demotivational poster that says "If all it takes is a
pretty picture and a cute little saying to inspire you, then your job is what
robots will be doing soon. Real soon."

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indie01
Interesting how so many of them in this list share the characteristic of being
fired from one job or another. Most innovative types don't seem to work so
well in stringent environments, or what I like to think of as the SJ mentality
of "management by suffocation."

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kingkongrevenge
> Most innovative types don't seem to work so well in stringent environments

Or perhaps people who don't work well in stringent environments are denied
safer high income jobs and so are forced to innovative entrepreneurship.

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brlewis
Charisma seems to be a thread through most of these examples.

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dennykmiu
Charisma is the fume in an otherwise empty fuel tank.

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NSX2
Steve Jobs, Richard Branson, Larry Ellison, and lots of other people known for
using their charisma to motivate other seem to be doing ok despite their,
"empty fuel tank."

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dennykmiu
It takes a lot to be a successful entrepreneur. The article focuses on
perseverance whereas the original comment mentions charisma. And there are
many more, including availability of money.

My experience is that charismatic entrepreneur can accomplish a lot with very
little money (hence empty gas tank) if he/she has the right vision and the
ability to organize and motivate (hence fume which by the way is incredibly
combustible).

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NSX2
Ok. Sorry for being a smartass, I totally didn't see your comment as meaning
that at first. From first reading it seemed something some smug prep-school-
bred i-banker would say when being dismissive.

My bad.

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wumi
one of the best articles of the year

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kingkongrevenge
"Great Failures" would be an interesting book or article.

There are a lot more inventors and entrepreneurs who struggled for years,
successfully produced great things, and then failed to make a dime or achieve
any notoriety. They should get more mention. Philo Farnsworth? John Fitch?
These guys invested huge chunks of their lives but got nothing.

I suspect detailing what failure looks like is probably more inspiring than
all this focus on the payoff. Everyone already knows the "happily ever after"
ending. It's the less explored unhappy ending that that holds people back.

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dennykmiu
As someone who has failed spectacularly in my previous startups, I can say
with authority that failure sucks. There is nothing inspiring about failure
(by itself).

However, I think what is inspiring is how entrepreneurs who have failed
managed to get themselves off the floor and eventually achieve success. And I
do agree we don't talk enough about recovery from failures.

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kingkongrevenge
I suppose "inspiring" isn't the right word, but I think a better understanding
of what failure looks like and its statistical frequency is important.
Behavioral psychology says most people are far more motivated by fear than by
greed. I suspect the unknown is worse than what really happens in failure.
Well, except for John Fitch; he blew his brains out.

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dennykmiu
I agree 100%. Most entrepreneurs that I know are definitely driven by fear ...
fear of letting themselves down, fear of being accused of misleading their
team members so they better make this one work, fear of not delivering a
working product to their alpha customer who has placed a PO and who happens to
be their friend, fear of not returning reasonable upside to their VC's so
their reputation might be ruined irreversibly in the valley. And most
importantly of all, fear of going home facing their spouse and having to
explain (again). Fear is definitely much more immediate than greed (money).

