4 ms·

But what if the failure rate for those who do try is 99%? Trying isn't always zero-risk... I wonder if ambition could be subject to a cost/benefit analysis, hah

• winstonian 13y ago
  I once heard the phrase, "Don't be a pussy and quit fucking around". It has become a phrase I live by.
• rosser 13y ago
  What's the cost/benefit breakdown of not taking the risk?
  • Joeboy 13y ago
    I don't really understand how we've ended up at this line of argument. There is no significant risk to talking shit at a bar. Other than the fact that being in the bar in the first place is generally a good way to avoid opportunities.
• WalterBright 13y ago
  If you are looking for reasons to not try, you're going to find an endless supply of them. I've done a lot of things that people relentlessly told me I had no chance of accomplishing.
  • delluminatus 13y ago
    You are either... 1. Extraordinary, and able to achieve what others cannot. 2. Lucky, and by chance successful in an area where success is hard to find. 3. Being told that you have no chance of accomplishing things that are actually not very hard. 4. A living example of how anybody can do that which they set their mind to. If you're 1, then other people can't use your experience as a guideline. If you're 2, then people can't use your experience as a guideline. If you're 3, then people can't use your experience as a guideline. If you think you're 4, then you're either 1, 2, or 3, and just don't realize it yet.
  • mindcrime 13y ago
    I've done a lot of things that people relentlessly told me I had no chance of accomplishing. Same here. I just use the commentary from the naysayers as "fuel for the fire", if you will. On that note... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q-qhWahjOgY http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q-qhWahjOgY
• larrys 13y ago
  Well first you are correct in that there is a psychological cost of failure for sure. Which is why it's harder for some people to cold call than others. I've found that since the advent of email (and before that postal mail) it's much easier though. You fire off an email and you forget it. If something happens it happens. So you don't really feel the rejection. By the way separately some of the best cold calling salesman are people who can't register or feel the annoyance or discomfort of those they are pitching. People who are able to feel this (either visually or by vocal tone) have a much much harder time overcoming the negative feedback. (Source: This is based on anecdote and observation over many years in business.)
  • 7Figures2Commas 13y ago
    > ...there is a psychological cost of failure for sure. I think this is one of the biggest challenges for entrepreneurs. Winston Churchill once said "Success consists of going from failure to failure without loss of enthusiasm." A lot of people, however, can only tolerate so much failure. At some point, failure wears them down and they lose the will to keep trying.
• mason55 13y ago
  > Trying isn't always zero-risk Trying is never zero-risk but not trying is always 100% risk of failure. The bigger the risk the bigger the reward usually, that's how capitalism works. Work a 9-to-5 at a safe company, make a nice salary, have little risk Work a 9-to-7 at a startup, make less money but have equity, have more risk of the company going under but have a bigger shot at reward Start your own company, have no salary but 100% equity, risk being homeless, reward being a billionaire Every choice you make is a risk-reward calculation and you have to decide what's important to you and whether it's worth risking for a bigger reward.
• raverbashing 13y ago
  A failure rate of 99% is a great value So, if you try 10 times, your chance of never succeeding is around 90%. Or, saying it another way, the chance of succeeding, at least once, is 10%