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Entrepreneurship is like dating

by Yann Girard — Get free updates of new posts here

We all have this one idea that we've been thinking about for the last few days, weeks, months or even years. It keeps our heads busy spinning all day long but we never really execute on it.

We're too afraid that it won't work out. We don't know how to get started, what to say or where to go to for help. So we just drop it…

And then, a few years or decades later we ask ourselves the following question:

„What would have happened if...?“

Maybe I would have become a millionaire. Maybe I would have had a happier life. Maybe nothing at all would have happened. Or even worse:

Maybe I would already be dead broke by now and have to live on the streets.

And that last thought scares the shit out of us. The thought that we might go broke paralyzes us. And it paralyzes us for the rest of our lives.

As soon as one decision in our lives involves the possibility of going broke we prefer to play it safe and do nothing at all.

But what we barely ever consider is the fact that we learn so many valuable things when we fail once or twice (or more) in our lives.

We never take into account that the skills we learn are all "marketable" skills that increase our net worth (personal & professional). 

Personally, I learned most of the things I know today because I left the safe harbor, ventured into the unknown and embraced my fear of failure.

Most of the things I did failed, but I never really had to live on the streets.

I had to move back in with my mom once because I didn’t have enough money to rent a new flat in Munich (after my gf and I broke up).

But this also enabled me to travel & work location independent for the last 3 months because I didn’t have any fixed costs, such as paying rent for an apartment and so on.

Another great thing that happened to me because I failed at doing something is my blog (yes, the one you’re reading right now).

It’s actually the result of me failing to deliver my first book on time (in the end I guess I was 6 months late or so).

My blog came to life because I wanted to make sure that people that were waiting for my book (and already paid for it) knew that I was still alive and not a total scam.

But what is it then that paralyzes us so much that we usually only keep dreaming our dreams instead of really and truly living them?

I guess it’s the fact that we don’t want to be on the „loser's team“.

We prefer to be on the winning team instead, even if we never get to play a single second and will remain a substitute for our entire career.

Our thoughts are guided by things like this:

  • What will my friends think about me?
  • What if I can't afford to go out with them anymore?
  • What if...?

So instead of getting some real "game time" experience out in the fields, get better every single day with every failed game, we prefer to play it safe and be a benchwarmer on the winner's team for the rest of our lives.

And that's exactly what dating is about, too.

If you never go over to that girl/guy at the bar, or the girl/guy that you just saw at the shopping mall you might never really improve your game.

Your a-game will suck.

Worst case: Your a-game might still suck when you meet the woman/man of your dreams, the one you know you have to and want to spend the rest of your life with.

Just like entrepreneurship, dating is about getting it right just once in your entire life. And once you got it right you don't have to care about all the other times anymore...

Unfortunately, to get it right that one time you need to know how to do it right.

And you can only learn how to do it right if you have enough real world “experience” and not by being a benchwarmer…

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  • "97% of the people out there won't care about what you do. Act accordingly."

     

  • "Money is not for buying things. Things don’t make us happy. Money is for buying ourselves some freedom to do the things that make us happy."

     

  • "Being unrealistic is the most realistic thing you could do."

     

  • "You just need one person who cares about what you do. And that person is you. And no one else. It all starts with you."

     

  • "We always think we have enough time. Until we realize there's no more time left."

     

  • "The only way to stay ahead of the curve is to create your own curve."

     

  • "Be the dealer. Don't be the junkie. The dealer always wins. And the junkie always dies."

     

  • "The only person you should try to please is your 80 year old self."

     

  • "It's hard to see the light at the end of the tunnel when you keep your eyes closed.."

     

  • "Most advice doesn’t work. Because most advice comes from people who’ve never even done the things they're taking about. And that's dangerous."

     

  • "Being able to build something out of nothing is the most important skill. For what? For everything!"

     

  • "Why are people who write about millionaire habits not millionaires?"

     

  • "No one will magically find out about you."

     

  • "The things you don't want to do are usually the things you should be doing. They're almost always the things that will get you where you want to be."

     

  • "Don't let other people's reality be your reality.."

     

  • "Today it's easier to get started than ever before. That's why most people give up so easily. Because it was so easy to begin with."

     

  • "When you hate your job you'll never be able to do more than just mediocre work."

     

  • "Don't listen too all the life advice out there. It's all B.S. Just like this right here."

     

  • "No one starts as an expert. We all start from the bottom. And have to work our way to the top."

     

  • "The only thing that will ever lead to quality is quantity. To do it over and over again. That’s the only way."

     

  • "Be a Warrior, not a Worrier!"

     

  • "New ways of doing things never work. Until they do. Just like old ways of doing things always work. Until they dont."

     

  • "Constantly thinking about things won’t get you anywhere. You'll never find a solution just by thinking about it. You've gotta start doing."

     

  • "Not getting it right is part of the process of getting it right."

     

  • "How long does it take to change the world? As long as it takes to change yourself. So probably your whole life."

     

  • "Focusing on results won't get you results. Focusing on the actions that produce results will get you results."

     

  • "It's easy to forget all the things you have when all you do is to focus on the things you don't have."

     

  • "Perfection will only hold you back"

     

  • "Never listen to anyone who has never done what you're doing or want to do. Ignore your parents, your friends and pretty much everybody else."

     

  • "Trading time for money is not freedom. It’s a prison. The only way you’ll ever be able to make more money is to trade more of your time."

     

  • "The only way to beat the system is to know the system. Inside out."

     

  • "It's not what you do on your good days that will make you. It's almost always what you do on your bad days that will either make you or break you."