What makes you lose interest in an idea? Are you looking for something that is built and running, or do you consider working with ideas? –@jmvelez08
Believe it or not, most things in life should be very very easy. The reason why it seems we must encounter such great difficulties until we find success is because most people carry with them the mistaken belief that we need to “pay our dues” – that things should be hard and it’s through this persistent fighting in the trenches that you come out the other side the victor.
But the reality is, the reason persistence works is because it takes time to realize that things that work out well are actually the things/ideas/companies/endeavors that are easy.
For instance, if a company is great then it’s easy to raise money, make money, and then sell your company. But if an idea or company is not so great, then it’s a lot of work to set up, its very hard to raise money, and its very hard or impossible to get customers and sell the company. And might take years. Then you shut it down and start the next company and it feels like persistence.
I lose interest in an idea then when what I call the “conspiracy number” goes too high. If too many things have to conspire together for the idea to work for me then it’s no good. For instance, if a product has to be built, customers have to be found, money has to be raised, and (as is the case with most companies) the product has to be re-worked, then it has a conspiracy number of 4. For me, 2 is high enough. 3 or higher becomes stress. Stress increases the risk of heart disease, strokes, Alzheimers, and cancer.
When I was 20 it was ok to have a conspiracy number of 4. I didn’t know anything. But now a conspiracy number of 3 or higher could kill me. Could literally make my children lose their father.
I don’t want that.