The elusive obvious

There is a human characteristic that limits the number of entrepreneurs and other high achievers. The problem is mental in nature and stems from the way we are taught in school. The problem is risk aversion.\nFrom kindergarten on, we are taught to be risk averse. We are rewarded and punished based on the number of errors that we commit. Those who commit the fewest mistakes are praised and win the game of school. Those who fail early on to conform to these standards either learn the system or become disenfranchised. The latter soon realize that there is no incentive to be excellent and a strong incentive to be “good enough” and feed the dog his own food. Good boy.\nThis risk-averse attitude follows us into the workplace. This creates a large disconnect between what it takes to be a high achiever. The problem is that often, people hide the mistakes they make and emphasize the successes in their lives.\nWhen entrepreneurs start out – for better or for worse – they have high hopes and expectations. Every entrepreneur believes, as I did, that he or she can skip the blunders and failures of other first-time entrepreneurs. The rules of success, the entrepreneur believes, only apply to less-talented individuals.\nWith high hopes, the entrepreneur enthusiastically starts his venture. And then it happens. For some reason the business doesn’t work out. The entrepreneur is down for a little while but is confident that the second business will be better. The second idea will be cleverer. The business will be stronger.\nThe second business is indeed more successful. The entrepreneur is flying high, and things are good. And then it happens again: The business fails for a second time. This time, the business fails for a completely different reason.\nThus, the once-confident entrepreneur starts to doubt his or her own skill. His or her thoughts turn from, “How can I accomplish this goal?” to more self-destructive questions: “Why am I such a failure?” What the entrepreneur doesn’t comprehend is that the mind is a powerful device. It will answer whatever question you ask of it. When the entrepreneur asks, “How can I accomplish this goal?” the creative juices begin to flow and the mind finds ways to get things done. When the mind asks questions such as “Why am I such a failure?” it provides 100 answers.\nBecause of a personal bias, the entrepreneur is not able to see the picture clearly. While the entrepreneur keeps on increasing his skills, his confidence goes down inversely. This is because the entrepreneur doesn’t realize that failure is a success in and of itself. It is failure that teaches the most. It is failure that makes entrepreneurs incredibly resilient and cool-headed. Every entrepreneur, even the superstars such as Bill Gates and Steve Jobs, had many failures before they had one success. As an entrepreneur, you must fail many times before you reach the next step. The sooner you start to fail, the sooner you will start to have success.\nTo increase your chances of success, surround yourself with people who understand the time and dedication it takes to be successful. Most importantly, surround yourself by friends and family who accept and understand you despite your short-term or long-term failures. Focus on improving your skill set and execution, and the money will follow.