(#050) To Do or Not To Do

The Humble Truth Behind Success

⏱️ 3 min read

July 22, 2024, Fairhaven (MA, USA)

After twenty-one years of career—eighteen of which spent running businesses I named myself—I have plenty of material to reflect on what worked and what didn’t.

I launched my first company at twenty-seven (read: very late). I made the mistake of not dropping out of school like every other self-made millionaire—or billionaire, for that matter.

Back then, I was providing procurement services in the growing solar energy industry, building on the skills and network I’d acquired in my first three years of work. It was a discreet success. The company made more profit in one year than I had earned in three—but I never saw those profits. A stark divergence with my partner forced me to walk away from my own business and start again from zero.

My second venture—a similar one built from the ashes of the first—took only six months (instead of two years) to move from plan to profit. Those were some of the toughest, yet best, days of my life.

A few years later, my industry—renewable energy—had its first major downturn (and many since). I folded my cards and went looking for opportunities elsewhere.

I ended up founding an agency representing both Chinese and Western companies on cross-border mandates. The work was uncertain: some projects brought prestige and income, others barely moved the needle.

Then renewables came roaring back (mind: after four years). The network I’d built in China turned out to be the perfect springboard. I launched yet another company—this time as a principal investor. I learned a ton, and took home a decent payout.

I’ve failed as many times as I’ve succeeded. In fact, many more times.

What mattered more than the results was that I never stopped reflecting—always trying to optimize for the next step.

And now, after seventeen years and four months, I realize that…

Every time I succeeded, it was because I chose doing over not doing.

I chose to try—to put my time, my money, and, not least, my reputation on the line. I stomached the disagreements, the skepticism, the comfort-zone advice. Some worried for my well-being. Others worried that, if I succeeded, they’d look bad for never trying. I did things.

And here’s what I found to be the reason of every failure: I chose doing over not doing.

Same difference. I know—that’s deeply unsatisfying.

Unlike most of the self-help or business books that promise neat formulas, the truth is: you never know. You don’t know if the next all-in decision will write a success story or drag you into chaos.

You just don’t.

As the years go by, the scoreboard changes. It becomes less about how much money a venture makes and more about how much meaning the adventure adds to your life.

But the challenge remains. Most people who seem to have learned the secret of consistent success aren’t becoming wiser—they’re becoming more conservative.

Next time someone says, “I launched and scaled three (or thirty) businesses,” ask yourself: Were they each one ten times bigger than the last?

If not, then perhaps they went from zero to millionaire by risking 100%, and then spent the rest of their career investing 10% of it.

Or they built an audience of one million with their first venture, and then magically claimed to have had equal resonance with their second, third, and fourth ideas.

(Mind you, I’m not saying they should prove something by risking everything. I’m saying they should refrain from treating their continued success as evidence that what they do can be easily replicated—or that it will unfailingly succeed each time.)

But one thing you can count on: every person who ever succeeded, every person who carved even a tiny sliver closer to their dreams, was a doer.

That’s the only certainty.

That’s why I keep doing.

L.F

(Read this article on Medium)