David Stark

Entrepreneurship is like an adult marshmallow test. Most people aren't wealthy and successful because most people are naturally really bad at making decisions that maximize results 5 and 10 years down the road. They are broke, out of shape, unhealthy and unhappy because they naturally make decisions that maximize pleasure today and tomorrow or next week instead of far off into the future. And unfortunately, most people think of entrepreneurship as a get-rich-quick scheme. The media likes to celebrate stories of people like Zuckerberg who went from his college dorm room to being a billionaire in just a few years. Many stories are written about these unicorns but they are one in a million success stories. The truth is that entrepreneurship is anything but a get-rich quick scheme. For essentially everyone, generational wealth and success in America is usually a VERY long game. So long, in fact, that it takes multiple generations! People immigrate to America with nothing. They work hard just to get by and send their kids to a decent school. Those kids improve and then advance in society. They become doctors or lawyers and create stability and a backstop for their kids. And then those kids become entrepreneurs and accumulate even more wealth in their lives. The lesson: Play the long game. Understand that it is a process. You must suffer and do hard and boring things for many years to have great results. Making money, despite what you read on social media, is actually quite hard. Play the long game!