Entrepreneurship Is a Test of Endurance, Not Intellect

Mental Models, Performance, Business & Entrepreneurship | newsletter.scottdclary.com

Scott D. Clary

May 05, 2024

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Endurance unlocks your intellect: The early stages of building a business are about proving you won't quit. This experience forges mental toughness and creates the perfect conditions for your true intellectual firepower to emerge.

Grit + growth mindset = a powerful combo: Don't be afraid to fail, but extract every lesson. Analyze wins and losses, constantly refining your approach. This makes your endurance strategic and fuels continuous intellectual growth.
You can outperform the "geniuses" through deliberate resilience: The smartest people often aren't the most successful in business. By combining relentless drive with continuous mental development, you gain a long-term competitive edge that raw intellect can't beat.

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Let's be real – everyone thinks they've got the next billion-dollar idea. But most people talk a big game about disruption and world-changing innovation, then flame out in spectacular fashion. There's this assumption that you need to be a genius to build a business.

But here's the thing, being a genius can sometimes be your downfall. Crazy intelligence often comes with overthinking, second-guessing everything, and getting paralyzed by analysis.

What's the alternative? Grit. That stick-with-it-ness. That unstoppable force.

See, starting and running a business is hard—like, really soul-crushingly hard. It feels like the universe is constantly testing your limits. It's rejection, disappointment, and late nights fueled by cheap coffee and sheer stubbornness. It's wanting to throw in the towel more times than you can count.

But something magical happens if you hang in there long enough. You survive those seemingly impossible moments. You develop this mental toughness that can't be taught in a classroom. And that, my friends, is where intellect finally gets to shine. When you've faced the fire, all those smarts become truly dangerous.

So, what does this mean? A few things:

You don't have to have the perfect plan. No business model survives first contact with reality anyways.
Action trumps ideas. Start moving, start messing up, start learning. You can refine your intellect as you go along.
You're probably tougher than you think. It's shocking what you can put up with when you decide not to quit.

Let's change that quote a bit: "Entrepreneurship is a test of endurance that unlocks the power of your intellect."

Let's not completely discount those smarts either.

There's a sweet spot where resilience unlocks the true potential of your brainpower. Let's dig a bit deeper into how those two concepts play together.

Think of endurance as your "earning the right" phase.

When you're first starting out, there's this temptation to focus on the genius idea, the sexy pitch deck, and the fancy strategy jargon you learned in business school. But in reality, you don't have the experience to fully leverage those things.

In the beginning, it's about proving – to yourself and the world – that you won't back down. It's about embracing uncertainty, working insane hours, and finding creative ways to solve those thousand little problems that pop up every day.

With each obstacle you overcome, you build a track record of success (even if they're small wins). This earns you two critical things:

Perspective: Suddenly, those textbook theories start making sense in the context of your real-world battles. Your "intellectual toolkit" becomes way more useful once you've got actual problems to solve.
Confidence: Beating back failure builds unwavering self-belief. When you know you can weather the storm, your ideas start to flow better and decisions feel less agonizing.

The magic happens when you combine grit with this newly unlocked intellect. You'll see things that others miss. You can make better, faster choices informed by both your gut instinct and hard-won knowledge.

Let's illustrate this with a quick story:

Imagine two founders building a social media app. Person A is the stereotypical genius, obsessed with the latest AI and having the most cutting-edge features. Person B is all grit, focusing on building a simple but fun user experience and strong community.

At first, Person A might get all the attention. But over time, their app is bloated, buggy, and users get confused. Person B's app, while not as flashy, is sticky because people actually like using it. Now Person B, through trial and error, starts getting a feel for what their audience really wants… and suddenly, they're in a position to leverage their smarts and iterate towards something genuinely groundbreaking.

What's the lesson?

It's not about discounting intellect. It's about understanding that true intellectual firepower comes from experience forged in grit.

Alright, I'm sure some of you might be thinking, "So, are you saying I just have to suffer and eventually, I'll figure it all out?" Well, yes and no. This isn't about needless struggle. Instead, it's about something I like to call deliberate resilience.

There's a difference between being stubborn and being strategically persistent. Grit without a dose of self-reflection just turns you into a martyr for your business. Here's where your intellect should be laser-focused as you're enduring the entrepreneurial journey:

Feedback loops are your best friend. You survived, that's great. But what did you actually learn? Analyze your wins and your losses. This builds your "pattern recognition engine", making future decisions sharper.
Get tactical with your tenacity. Be relentless about reaching your goals, but flexible about how you get there. If something isn't working, don't double down on stupidity. Pivot, adjust, and try again using your hard-won experience.
Don't confuse motion with progress. Working hard is commendable, but working hard on the wrong things gets you nowhere. Pause regularly to make sure your endurance is aligned with your long-term vision.

Let's be honest, the world isn't always fair. Being the smartest or the hardest worker doesn't guarantee entrepreneurial success. But here's what I've observed consistently: Those who combine endurance with continuous mental refinement are the ones who defy the odds.

This is where a concept like the growth mindset becomes essential. If you believe your intellect is fixed, failure feels paralyzing. But with a growth mindset, every setback is an opportunity to get smarter. Endurance gives you the time to cultivate that mindset.

Let me give you a classic example: Dyson vacuums. James Dyson failed over 5,000 times before producing a working prototype. Did he just stubbornly brute-force his way through? Absolutely not. Each failure taught him something, fueling a relentless pursuit of a better design. The intellect was always there, but endurance gave him the time and space to make it truly effective.

Alright, let's get introspective for a second because the truth can hurt:

Do you have limiting beliefs sabotaging your growth? Are you someone who easily gets discouraged, assuming you're just not smart enough? Or do you take losses personally, making yourself the victim rather than focusing on what you can control?

If those questions hit a nerve, it's time to work on both your mind and your mettle.

See, we've flipped the script on the idea that entrepreneurship is just about genius-level intellect.

Now, the question is: what are you going to do with this knowledge?

Here's the deal: Everyone wants the glory of a successful business, but few are willing to put in the grueling, unglamorous work required to unlock the potential of their own minds. This is your advantage IF you decide to embrace it.

A lot of "personal development" stuff is fluffy and motivational, but let's be real here. Cultivating true, powerful grit is uncomfortable. It means confronting your weaknesses, getting honest about your blind spots, and pushing yourself way past your previous comfort zone. This isn't a one-time thing, it's a daily practice woven into the very fabric of your entrepreneurial life.

So, here's what I want you to start thinking about:

Your mental game is everything: Can you handle self-doubt and push forward anyway? Are you willing to learn from failure rather than be destroyed by it? Can you manage your focus amidst unrelenting chaos? This is the real foundation of success.
Invest in your 'intellectual stamina': Just like building muscle at the gym, your brain needs constant workouts to grow stronger. This means deliberate learning, challenging your own assumptions, and seeking out mentors who force you to think bigger.
Endurance compounds: Each small win, each lesson learned, each time you refuse to give up – this adds up. That's why people with average intellect but relentless drive often outperform those initial "geniuses" who flame out before ever experiencing the full power of their mind.

Look, this isn't about me telling you to embrace suffering for suffering's sake. It is about seeing the early, gritty stages of a venture as an investment into unlocking your most valuable asset – your intellect. The world might initially reward the idea, but in the end, it's those who survive long enough to become truly formidable that claim the real prize.

I believe this message needs to be spread far and wide. Entrepreneurship isn't just for the select few with a 180 IQ.

It's for those crazy enough to believe they can push themselves, get better every day, and outsmart the competition over the long haul.

Okay team, we've come this far – it's time to bring it home. We've flipped the script on the idea that entrepreneurship is just about genius-level intellect. Now, the question is: what are you going to do with this knowledge?

So, here's what I want you to start thinking about:

Your mental game is everything: Can you handle self-doubt and push forward anyway? Are you willing to learn from failure rather than be destroyed by it? Can you manage your focus amidst unrelenting chaos? This is the real foundation of success.
Invest in your 'intellectual stamina': Just like building muscle at the gym, your brain needs constant workouts to grow stronger. This means deliberate learning, challenging your own assumptions, and seeking out mentors who force you to think bigger.
Endurance compounds: Each small win, each lesson learned, each time you refuse to give up – this adds up. That's why people with average intellect but relentless drive often outperform those initial "geniuses" who flame out before ever experiencing the full power of their mind.

I believe this message needs to be spread far and wide. Entrepreneurship isn't just for the select few with a 180 IQ. It's for those crazy enough to believe they can push themselves, get better every day, and outsmart the competition over the long haul.

Until next time,

Scott