The most profound realization I’ve come to in recent years is something we all know intuitively, but don’t consciously reflect upon: that most of what happens in the world is beyond our control.

We don’t have much say over what competitors or governments do, when new technologies appear, or major upheavals will occur. These things — and many other factors that determine our success — are unpredictable. As such, our skill does not determine our outcomes. Skill plus chance does, where chance often has greater influence.

With this in mind, there's often more to be gained by focusing on the chance side — increasing the likelihood of serendipitous encounters by meeting more people, experimenting, exploring widely, and thinking probabilistically — than on the usual activities. Strategizing, analyzing, and building deeper specialisms may seem like logical ways to become more successful, but they reach diminishing returns surprisingly quickly.

This realization is immensely liberating. Most of our anxiety is caused by attempting to know the unknowable and control the uncontrollable, then punishing ourselves when our plans don’t work out. It’s only when we let go of all those pressures that we can fulfill our entrepreneurial potential.

Come on in, the water’s nice and warm!

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