When do you really know a business you have built has no future?

I just watched a fascinating Netflix documentary about car creator John DeLorean. You may recall his car was made famous in the classic 'Back to the Future' films when 'Doc' used the DoLorean as his vehicle for his time travelling invention the 'flux capacitor' that would propel Marty through space and time.

John DoLorean led an incredible life. In his early years he was a promising GM executive (who was tipped to be a future President of GM, then the biggest company in the World in the 1960's). DoLorean was at the time one of the most innovative men in the automobile industry globally. He has been largely attributed in creating one of the first muscle cars, the GTO Pontiac. It was this car that helped propel GM sales globally.

In his early carer everything he touched turned to gold. He had a bigger dream however. To create an affordable but highly desirable sports car for the average person. This passion engulfed him and untimely drove him to do the unthinkable. With his car company in dire financial trouble, he made a decision to try and distribute a massive amount of cocaine to fund his ailing motor vehicle company. I recommend you watch the documentary so I won't tell you what happens.

His story is so remarkable it should have been made into a Hollywood film. In fact it’s repeated time and time again in the documentary as to why his story has not been made into a film….well at least his car did star in a very successful film franchise!

But what can we learn from this incredible rise and fall of such a forward thinking entrepreneur?

How do you know when the business you have put so much energy into, maybe your life's work, is not worth pursuing any further? At what point do you have to face the reality and cut your losses? Maybe there isn’t an answer and maybe you will never know until it’s too late. I was just fascinated to watch a brilliant man get so desperate in the pursuit of his dream he was willing to become a major drug dealer to fund his operation. What’s the lesson for business??I welcome any feedback!

Ironically his legacy lives on through car collectors and to purchase a DoLorean now is around $90k.

How far would you be willing to go to save your life’s dream??

DoLorean was a dreamer and never gave up on his dream. In part, his dream came true that but ultimately it destroyed his life.?