More people have the potential to be happy, but common obstacles get in the way. People who overcome these obstacles get a huge advantage.
Self-doubt or lack of self-confidence hold all of us back, to some degree. Some are affected more than others.
In the real world, more than just intelligence and grades is required. Guts, chutzpah, balls, daring, tenacity, grit are different names for the factor that plays a huge role in success.
When you recognize a great opportunity, you must have the courage to chase it.
(Shortform example: a quote from Charlie Munger: “We read a lot. But that’s not enough: You have to have a temperament to grab ideas and do sensible things. Most people don’t grab the right ideas or don’t know what to do with them.”)
Fear manifests in a lot of ways.
Fear of losing makes you play it safe and avoid opportunities that can have huge upsides and relatively low downsides. Control your fear of losing, money or otherwise. Everyone has fear of losing money, but you have to handle it properly.
School teaches us that mistakes are bad, but this is terrible for real life. Winners aren’t afraid of losing, but losers are. People who avoid failure also avoid success.
Every rich person has lost money. Someone who has never lost money is probably not rich.
Winning requires being unafraid to lose.