“When people, starting out now, ask me about how likely it is that they can succeed at starting a business, building a popular blog or writing a book, my inclination is to ask, ‘How long CAN you try?’”
Scott H. Young
This is a quote by, author and exceptional thinker/polymath, Scott H. Young from his blog post: Success is Stamina: To Win Means to Keep Playing , which is an insightful commentary on the infinite game.
This question “how long can you try?” really resonated with me. I like that it asks “can you try,” as opposed to “will you try”. Willingness is obviously important; however, reflecting on willingness in isolation can lead to an unrealistic sense of your actual ability and/or set of circumstances necessary to fuel the stamina you require to keep playing.
When reflecting on the question “how long CAN you try,” you are forced to honestly consider the track record of your efforts of endurance and perseverance.
If you lack evidence of past times in which you resiliently kept taking swings in spite of striking out more often than getting hits, then why do you believe this time it will be different? Perhaps, you do have a good reason for WHY this time it will be different. If so, clearly articulating this reason will be essential to do before you begin pursuing an infinite game.
If you are attempting to come up with a reason for why you will continue when under pressure, it might be too late.
