{"id":12241,"date":"2020-02-01T16:11:00","date_gmt":"2020-02-01T21:11:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.renthop.com\/content-manager\/?p=12241"},"modified":"2020-02-01T16:12:38","modified_gmt":"2020-02-01T21:12:38","slug":"how-not-to-die-weight-loss-edition","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.renthop.com\/blog\/how-not-to-die-weight-loss-edition\/","title":{"rendered":"How Not To Die: Weight Loss Edition"},"content":{"rendered":"\r\n

We previously discussed how Paul Graham’s famous How Not To Die essay<\/a> applies well to the world of New York City<\/a> rental brokers. Now that renter paid broker fees disappearing<\/a> (unless it’s overturned), it’s more important than ever to be both engaged and flexible. Some people will need to pivot their business models. Some will do fine as is. But the most important thing is not to panic and shut down.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Make Failure Public and Embarrassing<\/h2>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

The second key point in How Not To Die is to set yourself up for embarrassing failure. Although many founders begin their ventures with dreams of “having an impact” or generating great wealth, the harsh realities of the startup world are brutally demoralizing. When the going gets tough, who are the weak hands who quickly fold, citing the “fail fast” advice?<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Y Combinator discovered founders are more concerned about the high embarrassment of failure than the allure of riches. Lawrence and I experienced this many times in the early RentHop days<\/a>, and we nearly gave up MANY times. Octopart had a challenging start (who doesn’t?). But Andres Morey and Sam Wurzel found themselves on the cover of Newsweek with “Meet The Next billionaires” printed on their chests. PG predicted they were sure to succeed (and years later they did).<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

No Excuses For Failure<\/h3>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

When you proclaim your intent loudly and proudly, there is no turning back. When you don’t, you can quietly disappear. This second mental hack of publicly declaring your intent is more actionable and effective than the first hack (to keep dedicating efforts and reporting progress). So here goes, time to put my ego on the line…<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

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