If you are looking for entrepreneurial wisdom, it’s impossible to go wrong by looking to King Solomon:
“Blessed are those who find wisdom, those who gain understanding, for she is more profitable than silver and yields better returns than gold.” Proverbs 3:13-18
“How much better to get wisdom than gold, to get insight rather than silver!” Proverbs 16:16.
Solomon knew that wisdom was more precious than gold because it could solve a lot more problems than just gold could.
In my startup journey, the most important piece of business wisdom I have learned in working for myself and attempting different tech startups, is to learn from each mistake you make.
Basically, never make that same mistake twice. We should apply this business wisdom to help us decide what to work on, how to invest our time on our business, and how we handle our personal and business relationships.
We can read all the business books, how-to guides and accelerator articles in the world, but without wisdom, we will never know what to do with all that information.
When I consider the difference between those who succeed versus those who don’t, the common denominator I see every time is perseverance. Persevering through hard times often makes the life-changing difference. But without wisdom, it’s hard to see that.
Take Thomas Edison’s remark regarding his numerous attempts to invent the electric light bulb:
“I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work.”
Edison was obviously stubborn in the best sense of the word and it paid off.
Steve Jobs, said “I’m convinced that about half of what separates the successful entrepreneurs from the non-successful ones is pure perseverance.”
Elon Musk, perhaps the greatest startup founder of all time likewise said, “Persistence is very important. You should not give up unless you are forced to give up.”
If you are struggling with landing on a business idea you can stick with, or how to go about building, maybe take a step back, regroup, and then go back to work on it. In other words, perevere.
“Knock (and keep knocking) and the door will be opened for you. For everyone who asks (and keeps on asking) receives. He who seeks (and keeps on seeking) finds. To him who knocks (and keeps on knocking) the door will be opened.” Matthew 7:7-8