In the long-run, we’re all dead.
John Meynard Keynes, the preeminent British economist, spoke these very words long ago. It gives light to the human tendency of ignoring short-term challenges and delegating thoughts to future expectations.
Here’s the thoughts that we use to ease our mind:
- “It’s okay, I’ll learn and hopefully my venture will be successful in the long-run.”
- It’s okay that we’re not making money now, we’ll be fine in the long-run.
- “It’s okay that we spent $40,000 on a SEO firm that didn’t do anything. The lesson will prepare us for the long-run.”
I plead guilty to these types of thoughts. Every self-help, improvement, diy guide will tell you to look at your failures as long-run learning experiences. That’s fine, if you want to make yourself feel better. However, I believe one requires a renewed focus on our present day actions and the true power we have over them. Keyne’s once stated:
As living and moving beings, we are forced to act…even when our existing knowledge does not provide a sufficient basis for a calculated mathematical expectation.
What type of person are you? A long-run hopeful or a short-term, action-oriented, ass-kicker?