My First Million
The best business ideas come from noticing what's working and doing it better, faster, or for a different audience.
Successful entrepreneurs develop extreme confidence and belief in their abilities long before they have evidence or proof of their capabilities.
The Reasoning
Belief creates the psychological foundation necessary to persist through inevitable failures and rejection. Without belief-first mentality, entrepreneurs quit when early evidence suggests they should. Confidence enables the sustained effort required to develop actual ability.
What Needs to Be True
- Founders must distinguish between confidence and delusion
- Belief must be coupled with relentless work ethic
- Market opportunities must exist that reward persistence
Counterargument
Overconfidence leads to poor decision-making, ignoring market feedback, and wasting resources on unviable ideas.
What Would Change This View
Evidence that data-driven, evidence-first entrepreneurs consistently outperform belief-first entrepreneurs in long-term outcomes.
Implications for Builders
Develop confidence through small wins and skill building
Don't wait for permission or validation to start
Use belief as fuel for sustained effort, not excuse for ignoring feedback
Distinguish between core vision belief and tactical flexibility
Example Application
“Entrepreneur believes they can build a Fortune 500 company from their dorm room before having any business experience, then spends decades building the skills and company to match that belief.”
Related Knowledge
Belief comes before ability.
Successful people develop confidence in their abilities before they have evidence of those abilities.
Anti-Business Billionaire Framework
A framework identifying five core traits of entrepreneurs who build massive companies by being contrarian to typical business advice: high disagreeableness, extreme self-confidence, product obsession, total control retention, and refusal to sell at any price.
Edisonian Principle of Design
A product development approach focused on rapid experimentation, immediate feedback, and constant iteration rather than master planning.
Maintain freedom to work on what you love while building a successful business
Ability to work exclusively on projects you're passionate about, declining lucrative distractions, and having money follow from doing what you love rather than chasing money directly.
Family Heirloom Business Model
Viewing your business as a family heirloom to be passed down through generations rather than an asset to be optimized for sale.
Go Slow Now to Go Fast Later
Deliberately limiting initial growth to deeply learn fundamentals, enabling exponentially faster growth later when you apply accumulated knowledge.