Paralysis
Posted by tktrader on August 22, 2009
If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings
And never breathe a word about your loss;
Overthinking is the like boiling a ham twice. The interesting thing abour serial entrepreneurs is their high tolerance for pain. Most people avoid doing things that are likely to result in failure which ironically is the characteristic that makes them unsuccessful in the first place. Sure there are countless people that have hit it big but the vast majority of entrepreneurs take changes often which result in failures…often. There are 2 traits to these types of people that help lead to their eventual success.
- High pain tolerance
- Optimism regardless of negative circumstance
The third implied trait that follows from these is their ability to brush off failure and move onto the next opportunity. The average entrepreneur statistically is relatively well off compared to the general population but not as much as you might think. They aren’t especially smart, or sophisticated or wealthy going in. What they do have is a personality type that promotes serial risk taking.
Which brings me back to my original point. Overthinking leads to inaction. Inaction leads to lost opportunities. Many times, simple action far exceeds inaction. Putting too much thought into something leads to paralysis, there are too many things to consider, so many risks that need to be managed, too many numbers to crunch, too much research to do. In all the time that it takes you to do these things, the opportunity may be closed.
Do enough research to form a sound opinion and manage the largest risks but do not waste time trying to understand and manage the irrelevant.
Opportunity lies at the intersection of planning and luck.
Never forget that risk runs both ways. The choice of not doing something runs the risk of not learning, not profiting and not doing what you love. Opportunity costs my friends.
