Ask Shaunti
2. Accomplishing something keeps a man going; not being able to accomplish it is painful.
I can still remember the emotion in the voices of several businessmen I was interviewing, as they described a time they had pursued but almost didn’t land a high-profile business deal that was important for their company. Why the unusual level of emotion? As I investigated further I was unsurprised to hear they had been concerned about letting down their company and their colleagues. I was more surprised to learn that each man had instantly worried about being fired and not being able to provide for his family. But most surprising of all was what each man described as the most painful thought to a man: the idea that he might fail at something he tried to do. Seriously? As one man explained, “That means you’re a loser. You’re weak. You tried… and you failed. And if you ask any guy, in sports or in business, we hate losing even more than we want to win.”
Tweet this: “The most painful thought to a man: the idea that he might fail at something he tried to do. “
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