On persistence and failing

Persistence

If there’s one thing I have learned on my entrepreneur’s journey is that you need to be obsessively persistent to crack the problems you want to solve. To stay on track. To make the change you decide to chase. It’s because there are no shortcuts to achieve meaningful things in life. Big or small ones.

You could, of course, quote Abraham Lincoln’s “If I had eight hours to chop down a tree, I’d spend the first six sharpening my axe” and say that it’s about preparation , and not long-term commitment by itself. I understand the argument, but it still sounds like a shortcut!

Let’s dig deeper into it.

Though, sharpening an axe for 6 hours straight requires a healthy piece of persistence, it’s not the only challenge with this prepare & chop down approach. I’m not saying it doesn’t work. It works. Sometimes with spectacular results. But there’s a catch. You must know how to cut the tree and… have the axe! And that’s not a regular situation.

In real life, it’s more common that we hit this metaphoric tree-problem and have no idea how to put it out of our way. We don’t have the tools, don’t know the technique, and certainly don’t see all the risks.

If so, can we follow Lincoln’s advice and prepare? No. And yes.

No , because there’s a big chance we have never seen that tree in our way.

Yes , because by learning persistence in seeking correct answers we can prepare for something crucial to the journey - failing.

Failing

I have a tiny, old notebook where I write down problems I think could be solved. There’s no special pattern here. Everytime I see something, it lands on the list. Could this work better? Could that be more efficient? How to make the change?

It’s a fantastic feeling when dedicating yourself to make a real change. Remember, though, when you think of adressing unsolved problems, you choose to work in the unknown waters, the so-called “blue ocean” (from Blue Ocean Strategy by W. Chan Kim). Think of it as an infinite space where your effort is the only force that can make the water move.

You know where I’m going with it.

When deciding to solve the unsolved, you choose to search for the answer. It’s a discovery quest. And you’re going to fail many times, or if not, you’ve chosen the small tree, the easy one to chop down.

Choice

Solving problems is like running a marathon. You choose to be persistent in preparation. You choose to make another step. You choose to fight on the run. While making all those choices, you accept that there’s no guarantee you’ll make it to the finish line.