There are so many breakout successes in tech. Andreesen. Cuban. Zuckerberg. Ev. Larry and Sergey. Sometimes it feels like they were ordained in some special way. It's enough to get someone
very very discouraged!
Are they lucky, or are they good?
The truth is...
both. Keep this in mind next time you feel discouraged. It is all too easy to compare yourself to those more fortunate, and come out feeling like you're not living up to your potential. It's not all luck -- to say so would be to denigrate the incredible hard work that people put in to get where they are. But it's also not all skill -- because what we do as entrepreneurs is explore this unknown space before us. Sometimes we find treasure, and sometimes we hit mines. The best we can hope for is the ability to avoid mines before they blow up, and to have the wherewithal to recognize opportunity when it is in front of us.
Keep up with the search. Keep your tools sharp. Perseverance is key. Paul Graham says "
If you don't die, you get rich... The odds of getting from launch to liquidity without some kind of disaster happening are one in a thousand. So don't get demoralized. When the disaster strikes, just say to yourself, ok, this was what Paul was talking about. What did he say to do? Oh, yeah. Don't give up." Good luck with your treasure hunt.
