As a recovering pessimist, I find being more optimistic a daily practice. Not what can go wrong—more, what could go right. It's another phrase that leans toward the negative rather than the opposite.
It’s said optimism is a prerequisite for entrepreneurs and predictors. I could be profiled as neither, but then both.
An entrepreneur starts and runs a business using their own ideas, time, and resources—taking on financial risk to bring something to market. What's rarely mentioned is their ability to absorb failure, get up, and try again. The goldfish memory concept. This is what connects cricketers to entrepreneurs: accepting failure and starting over.
A predictor foretells future events—a handicapper who analyses data and probabilities to forecast winners. Honestly, it's glorified guessing. This is what connects cricketers to predictors too. Punters are continually taken aback when they realise batting is built on predictive probabilities. That's my take, anyway.
And then there’s the catastrophist—the one who believes major changes happen through sudden, violent disaster rather than slow, gradual process. The one who knows exactly what can go wrong.
The catastrophist in me knows what can go wrong. The entrepreneur ignores him. The predictor backs the entrepreneur.
What could go right? Probably more than I think.
Nick
