From Chapter 7, "Tolerating Risk: Being a Doer, Not a Dreamer" in Ingredients of Outliers Sense of Humor/ Humility Another essential quality the successful entrepreneur must have is a sense of humor. Things will go wrong, often at the most unexpected and inopportune times. The customer who came to my hot dog stand and announced to all within earshot that I was the doctor who’d treated him in the emergency department a week earlier is a case in point. An embarrassing moment? You bet it was! But I still laugh every time I think about it. A sense of humor is what keeps an entrepreneur … [Read more...]
A Short Letter on Perspective
We recently read this online and got a good laugh about it. It is a great example of putting life situations in the right perspective. Dear Mom and Dad: Since I left for college, I have been remiss in writing and I am sorry for my thoughtlessness in not having written before. I will bring you up to date now, but before you read on, please sit down. You are not to read any further unless you are sitting down. Okay? Well then, I am getting along pretty well now. The skull fracture and the concussion I got when I jumped out of the window of my dormitory when it caught fire shortly after … [Read more...]