Don't Overgeneralize
I'm reading this great book by Sherry Walling
As you can see, I'm going through some stuff ;).
She had this great section on a cognitive distortion many entrepreneurs do which is "over-generalization:"
"Another common challenge I see with entrepreneurs is coming to a broad conclusion that is based on a single piece of evidence. Maybe it’s because entrepreneurs like to move fast, or tend to trust their instincts, but that tendency makes it dangerously easy to blow a single setback way out of proportion."
I've felt that way when a deal has fallen through, an employee ditched me, or some bureaucratic process has screwed me over.
Then I think "I suck at this business and the whole industry is stupid and I should just buy a storage facility."
The healthy approach is instead to interpret a single setback as a single data point, and incorporate it into the whole body of evidence of your entrepreneurial career.
You may screw up your first negotiation for a 1099 rate for example and may think you are "bad at negotiating" and just quit.
But negotiating is a skill and so the healthier approach is to think about all the times you've learned something new and used it to get something you wanted.
There will be setbacks in your quest to get your first 1099 gig but remember that no single setback defines you or your likelihood of success.
Want the full playbook? Check out Going 1099.