The slightly modified excerpt below is taken from Dennis, Felix. (2011). How to get rich. Random House. Image by Mohamed Hassan.
“Choices are confusing. They take time to consider, to sample, spit out and reject.
Cherish your inclinations and aptitudes. Though not infallible, they may well lead you in the right direction. But do not fall into the error of making a fetish of your passion.
Inclinations (preferences) are easy to list, aptitude (natural ability) is far less so. Trial and error, combined with fierce determination and a willingness to discard cherished perceptions about ourselves, is the best that I can suggest. The problem is that we create an image of ourselves in our childhood and youth (often at the urging of parents, siblings or friends), and subsequently attempt to graft reality onto this image. More often than not, the graft doesn’t take and the result is bewilderment and disappointment. Therefore it is far better to ruthlessly analyse what your particular aptitudes are and act upon them, rather than to attempt to graft an oak tree onto a dandelion.
It is highly unsatisfactory and frustrating that the most important decisions we are likely to consciously make leaves so very much to chance. A small success, though – even a tiny success – can provide a clue. It was my own success at selling magazines on the street that led me to begin to publish them eventually.
Which leads to fate. To chance. To serendipity. And, to a lesser extent, to the shared social delusion of the supernatural. In some ways successful entrepreneurs placed themselves in fate’s way, they grasped her by the forelock as she sprinted past. They were lucky in the Search and skillful in their follow-up. Boldness helped. Conquering fear of failure helped. Persistence helped. But without some luck, no one can get anywhere in the Search to discover the exact arena in which to do battle, the arena that suits and individual’s aptitudes and inclinations.”