Came across an article on http://www.linkedin.com/today/post/article/20130129175923-658789-failure-is-not-the-worst-outcome-mediocrity-is which inspired me and thought of sharing.
Inspired by his friend Drew Houston, the founder and CEO of Dropbox, the author Dharmesh Shah talks about why, for startups, the worst is not failing but being stuck in a quagmire of mediocrity. Though few entrepreneurial endeavors are wastes of time, just sub-optimal. Some things to ponder upon are:
"what's worse than failing is going sideways for years and years. The reason mediocrity is worse than failure is very simple: Failure lets you move on, mediocrity stalls you and keeps you from reaching your potential."
"Pursue something so important that even if you fail, the world is better off with you having tried." - an idea that Tim O'Reilly planted in the author's head.
"It's hard to give up something you've toiled away at. It's hard to all of a sudden admit "you know, my friends may have been right..." It's hard, because we're human and we become emotionally attached to the things we build. Particularly things we've had to defend against the cold, hard world. Things we've had to nurture and defend. Things that in some ways define our identity. I have no brilliant insights other than: Be honest with yourself and be mindful of your opportunity cost. Life is short. We have a limited amount of time to achieve our potential."
Inspired by his friend Drew Houston, the founder and CEO of Dropbox, the author Dharmesh Shah talks about why, for startups, the worst is not failing but being stuck in a quagmire of mediocrity. Though few entrepreneurial endeavors are wastes of time, just sub-optimal. Some things to ponder upon are:
"what's worse than failing is going sideways for years and years. The reason mediocrity is worse than failure is very simple: Failure lets you move on, mediocrity stalls you and keeps you from reaching your potential."
"Pursue something so important that even if you fail, the world is better off with you having tried." - an idea that Tim O'Reilly planted in the author's head.
"It's hard to give up something you've toiled away at. It's hard to all of a sudden admit "you know, my friends may have been right..." It's hard, because we're human and we become emotionally attached to the things we build. Particularly things we've had to defend against the cold, hard world. Things we've had to nurture and defend. Things that in some ways define our identity. I have no brilliant insights other than: Be honest with yourself and be mindful of your opportunity cost. Life is short. We have a limited amount of time to achieve our potential."
