I hate entrepreneur magazines. I hate business success stories.  I hate stories about some sixteen year old who made $500,000 selling used comic books online.

Those stories can ruin you. Can you get good ideas from reading that stuff? Probably not. Here’s why:

  • Luck was probably a huge factor
  • You do not see all the failure stories which far outnumber the success stories
  • The first one to try something new wins, the second one fails

So what do you get from success stories? You learn about someone who was extremely lucky.

When you read books about “secrets to success” remember that more people win lotteries than strike it rich with “secrets to success”.

There are no secrets. Chasing secrets will ruin you. A Chinese proverb instructs  us to “grow a business like a tree, slow and strong.”

If you’ve been chasing success stories without luck, we should talk. It’s time to plant a tree.

Chris Reich, Author of TeachU’s Business Talk Blog
Chris@TeachU.com