There's this great line, though, in the Saga of King Hrolf Kraki (the saga, not the fantasy novel version) where Hvitserk and his brothers want to leave home and their father is worried, and one of them says (in the Byock translation) something to the effect that "if we don't try, we will not know which way our luck will fall."
Who cares about survivorship bias? If we don't try, we will not know which way our luck will fall. I'd rather thy and fail, and try and fail again and again than condemn myself to mediocrity on the basis of fear of failure.
I agree that it's better to be struggling to do something that you love than hating doing something you find boring ("I'd rather fight and die on my feet than live on my knees" or some such.) but you're also asking people around you to make a sacrifice.
I have heard this but I guess I don't see it. I don't think you can succeed without taking risks, and i don't think you can succeed without failing, sometimes big-time. Indeed I think failure is more often than not, a stage on the road to success.
As for family, it's true that there will always be people who don't have an appetite for risk. However, I also think that if you build risk mitigation strategies into your family unit then the family can become a bit of a safety net, rather than something that drags everyone down. This may not be possible in all environments but I think it is often possible enough with a little creativity, that it can be done.
For example, when I am making money, my wife's income is strictly used to purchase luxuries, or saved. When I am not making money, that's a safety net. Similarly when she's not making money but I am we can live ok. But we can't do this without economizing in a lot of areas and being aware of risk.
Comments
There's this great line, though, in the Saga of King Hrolf Kraki (the saga, not the fantasy novel version) where Hvitserk and his brothers want to leave home and their father is worried, and one of them says (in the Byock translation) something to the effect that "if we don't try, we will not know which way our luck will fall."
Who cares about survivorship bias? If we don't try, we will not know which way our luck will fall. I'd rather thy and fail, and try and fail again and again than condemn myself to mediocrity on the basis of fear of failure.
> Who cares about survivorship bias?
The family of the person doing the trying?
I agree that it's better to be struggling to do something that you love than hating doing something you find boring ("I'd rather fight and die on my feet than live on my knees" or some such.) but you're also asking people around you to make a sacrifice.
not to mention the effect it has the person herself. The impact on outlook, happiness and aptitude for risk in the future.
I have heard this but I guess I don't see it. I don't think you can succeed without taking risks, and i don't think you can succeed without failing, sometimes big-time. Indeed I think failure is more often than not, a stage on the road to success.
As for family, it's true that there will always be people who don't have an appetite for risk. However, I also think that if you build risk mitigation strategies into your family unit then the family can become a bit of a safety net, rather than something that drags everyone down. This may not be possible in all environments but I think it is often possible enough with a little creativity, that it can be done.
For example, when I am making money, my wife's income is strictly used to purchase luxuries, or saved. When I am not making money, that's a safety net. Similarly when she's not making money but I am we can live ok. But we can't do this without economizing in a lot of areas and being aware of risk.