“You Gotta Be IN IT, To Win It!”
I always took this saying to mean that whatever you undertake, you should give it your all. However recently I have started to think about the phrase in a new way. That is that you have to be actively involved “IN IT” to have any chance, what-so-ever, to “win it.” As someone who has suffered from over-analysis in the past, I can attest to the fact that theorizing, without action, gets you nowhere.
Everyone has heard the overused saying that “starting is half the battle” but there really is something magical that happens when you take action. There are several reasons for this, however I think one of the biggest reasons is timing.
Take a guy like Wayne Huizenga, the ultra-successful entrepreneur that has been involved in the founding of such notable companies as Blockbuster Video and AutoNation. Huizenga seems to have an amazing instinct for knowing exactly when to sell a company, in some cases right before the company starts to tank. I am sure you can chalk at least part of having great timing instincts to “being born with it” but that is only part of the story. Great instincts can be developed, however when it comes to business I think this is where excessive theorizing fails.
Just as in nature and in life, business too has its own rhythm; whether it’s the rise and fall of a fad, the rise and fall of interest rates, or the rise and fall of the dot-com bubble. I think that it is only by acting on your ideas that you get connected with this rhythm and without such a connection your timing instincts will have little chance to develop. No matter how good or bad, you think your business plan might be, attempting to implement it will give you a lesson in timing that no amount of meditation or speculation ever will.
- No related posts