Does it help to be desperate? Part 2

When I started writing yesterday’s post, “Does it help to be desperate?”, I was originally going to try to answer the question myself. I spent a few hours writing about it from different angles, hoping to come to some brilliant insight. Instead, in the end, I left it unanswered, asked for everyone’s thoughts, and got some amazing responses.

The thoughts fell into four categories. Here are some highlights. Thanks to everyone for their thoughts.

Survivor bias.

• Chris Nelson said, “If it hadn’t been for dumb luck we’d be using him as an example of what not to do.”
• Benjamin Doerr said, “We don’t hear about all the others who took the same approach and had to give their island back, right?”
• Gary McCallister said, “This sounds like the ends justify the means to me.”

Whatever inspires you to act.

• Peter Ncanywa said, “Desperation makes you move. How you move is determined by your logic.”
• Victor Pellerano said, “When you are down to the last dime in your pocket, that’s when you will make things happen.”
• Butch Ross said, “I doubt that he was ever desperate. Rather, he just forced himself into a situation where failure was not an option, forcing himself to succeed despite the fact that failure was all but a foregone conclusion.”
• Brenden Mulligan said, “Do something big, even if it’s wrong. At least it’s something.”
• Monique diMattina said, “Are you able to be fully present with your back to the wall?”
• Stuart Todd Whitworth said, “I create my own sense of urgency (without going into debt) to keep motivated.”
• Steve Adwell said, “He became focused on something when it was about to flop. Focus was the key.”

Stress sucks.

• Ryan Chilcote said, “A small amount of stress is healthy, but too much can cause health problems and even death.”
• Sue said, “I would feel like a failure for putting myself in the situation to begin with.”
• Butch Ross said, “Being desperate is a death knell. Like attracts like, and if you’ve reached the point of being ’desperate’ it’s probably already too late.”
• Charles Nwabueze said, “This energy when positively channelled, births ambition, fuels motivation and desire and encourages creativity all of which can help change lives for good. But when negatively channelled, it invites fear, it impedes clarity of thoughts, hampers creativity and self worth, and encourages isolationism.”
• Andrei SoulsilenS said, “It is almost suicide to make decisions on rush.”

Desperation is not the issue.

• Tommy Lee Snyder said, “Most people are desperate because of unwise irresponsible decisions. A great business man is a great business man whether he is broke or worth millions. Pressure not desperation is the driving force for the wise.”
• Walter Santucci said, “That’s hungry, as opposed to desperate.”
• Stephanie Gold said, “I would call it extreme trust.”
• Mike Danilin said, “Being desperate implies having no choice.”
• Douglas Sjoquist said, “The key is not desperation, but commitment.”
• Jessa Young said, “Remember that no matter how bad the situation, there are always other options.”
• Monique Rhodes said, “It can’t terrify you if you have truly accepted the possible outcome of loss. With the intense emotions out of the scenario you are much less likely to make bad decisions.”
• Jonathan Byrd said, “You have equated financial debt with risk. There’s no such thing as debtor’s prison in the US or UK, so you could argue that our financial debts are not very risky at all.”

So, there’s no one answer, and I’ve got nothing special to add that wasn’t already said better by others here.

Thanks again, everyone.