Take the shot, live the life you want

One of the things I like to do is build teams and learn from others. It is honestly one of the most rewarding parts of being an entrepreneur. It is this sharing of information that drives a vision from an idea into reality. It also is what binds together a founding team with a shared experience and collective intelligence. Getting it right is everything.

But as I have learned along my own journey, as many others I met will confer, ideas are cheap and plentiful. Much less common is the gumption to take action upon an idea with a viciousness and rigor of determination that will be eventually defined as execution.

The challenge is that brute force is not enough, nor is it a good strategy.  Neither is mistaking motion for action. Entrepreneurs must move quickly and decisively, which would suggest there is an optimum time to go all-in. And there is.

This insight is the secret weapon of the entrepreneur. If you have found it, guard it closely. And when asked by others what your unfair advantage is, know this is what they are seeking.

Looking from the outside I suspect actionable execution looks like luck. But it isn’t. Entrepreneurs spend their careers refining their skills and domain expertise, patiently waiting for the opportunity to tilt in their favor. With more experience comes more ambitious endeavors, but the equation is always the same. Entrepreneurs know when to take the shot because they have studied the end game.

So can this be taught?

Perhaps. But academia and coaching will only get you so far. At some point you must bet on yourself. The athlete with countless hours of coaching ultimately stands alone and must throw a new move, or make an instinctive decision under intense pressure. The entrepreneur must step into ambiguity and be the spark that sets in motion a chain of events. 

No one with any common sense would do any of these things without the confidence of knowing success. And that only comes from doing.

The problem is our DNA is risk adverse. Set goals, take the sure thing, and conform to the status quo. This is what we are taught from the earliest age, and for the majority of people this is sound advice. Never underestimate the fear of failing.

Entrepreneurship is not for the faint of heart and has a real cost. But for the outlier, that is the opportunity. The point of anguish that must be solved for. And when you meet an entrepreneur, athlete, or anyone in this zone, it comes across as passion.

So my advise to anyone who is in the zone.  Take the shot.