[EasyCompany]

Reading this question, a scene from the movie Greenberg popped into my mind. They turned down a recording deal when in college and both amounted too nothing and they pushing forty, the scene after the house party, he has an argument with his friend and his friend tells him......that the biggest hurdle he has overcome is accepting the life that he didn't plan for. I can't remember correctly but that was the just of it.

Look, for every 100 people that venture into entrepreneurship, less than 10 make it, that is why there is so much money to be made. You should be proud of your effort, the only time you should be pissed at yourself is if you didn't commit 100%, in the long run we are all dead!

[Tichy]

Sometimes I wonder who decides on the morals that Hollywood movies transport, though. Like the obvious "sacrifice yourself for society" - I picture fattened movie studio bosses laughing their asses of watching the perils of the common people. So maybe this "accept your boring life" falls into the same category - a meme beneficial to the ruling class. (I haven't seen the movie)

[mikeegg]

The movie scene I thought of is in Clerks 2 where Randal and Dante are in jail and Randal is going off on Dante about how Dante complains about his life.

[mattmanser]

Where did you get the 10% success rate from? This sounds very low compared to figures from US census figures, for example, which reckons 50% ae still going after 5 years, without even accounting for the difference of being bought out, stopping while the going's good or going bust.

[EasyCompany]

A business just surviving and a business that is successful is two totally different scenarios. You can be surviving for 5yrs, marginally profitable for 5 yrs but still find yourself in huge debt, paying off your credit cards and other loans. Many people quit at this point even though the business is not bankrupt but it is just not what they envisioned and then realize 5yrs have gone by. If the US census calculated those people in business for 5yrs or more making over a certain amount of money, then u would get a clearer picture. There is a lot of grey in that 50% number. You also find some entrepreneurs struggling to make that leap from being just profitable or break even to being really successful, they just hover around that barely profitable point for yrs unable to make the leap, then realize yrs down the line that they could have been in a much better position in a 9 to 5 job.

In the trading industry, they say that only 5% of traders are successful and of that 5% only 1% make enough to call themselves wealthy.....that is why George Soros can make $500mill a year or $1bill in the 1992 British pound trade, or Ken Griffith buying a $60mill dollar painting and giving it to a museum. Many traders will say that number is higher but you find many traders who hover around that break even point unable to make the leap.

Look at the sporting industry, how many kids want to be star athletes and how many make it, then when u look at those that make it to college level, more drop off unable to make the leap. Then of those that go pro, there will only be a handful that will be stars, like Kobe.

So i guess its not about just making it, its about making the leap from borderline success to real success that separates the men from the boys. Since if u are just borderline you will never be happy and you will eventually burn out.