Imagine you’re standing at a crossroads. To the left is a smooth, well-lit path—predictable, safe, lined with approval from society. You know what happens if you take this road: you’ll get a decent job, live an average life, and retire quietly. Nothing wrong with that, right? It’s what the 99% choose. They trade ambition for security. They want comfort, even if it means capping their potential.
Now look to the right. That path is different. It’s uneven, full of obstacles, and there’s no guarantee of where it leads. It might take you to the peak of success, or it might toss you down a ravine. But here’s the thing—the greatest rewards, the life-changing wins, are only found at the end of the hardest roads.
25 Great Entrepreneurs Who Failed Harder and Won Bigger
Entrepreneurs’ Mind
Entrepreneurs crave that challenge.
They understand the cost of comfort. They know it’s easy to stay in a job you hate, to stay in a routine that keeps you just busy enough to avoid asking the big questions. But that’s where dreams go to die.
The 1% know that if you’re not pushing yourself to the edge of your abilities, you’re not really growing. They don’t shy away from discomfort. They run toward it because they know that growth only happens outside of the comfort zone.
Reframing Failure
Failure has a bad rep. Most people fear it like a disease, something to avoid at all costs.
The 99% see failure as the final word, a stamp of disapproval that says, “You’re not good enough.” But to an entrepreneur, failure is feedback. It’s the world’s way of saying, “Not yet. Try again. But this time, do it differently.”
Edison wasn’t afraid of failing 10,000 times. He wasn’t keeping count of how many attempts didn’t work. Every misstep was one step closer to the solution.
That’s the mindset. Failure isn’t fatal unless you let it be. Each “no” is one step closer to a “yes.”
Take Airbnb. When they first pitched the idea to investors, they were laughed out of the room. Investors thought the idea of renting out your home to strangers was insane. But founders Brian Chesky and Joe Gebbia didn’t quit. They used those rejections as fuel, not as a reason to give up. Fast forward to today, and Airbnb is valued at billions.
Why? Because they refused to let rejection be the end of their story. They knew that each “no” was simply a detour, not a dead-end.
Entrepreneurs don’t avoid failure—they harness it. They learn, adapt, and pivot until they get it right. And when they do, the world notices.1
Opportunity is Everywhere
Look around. Right now, there are opportunities staring you in the face, but most people are blind to them.
The 99% only see what’s obvious: a paycheck, a promotion, the next step in the corporate ladder. They see problems and accept them as reality. Entrepreneurs? They see problems as the next big opportunity.
Think about Travis Kalanick and Uber. He didn’t just see a taxi shortage. He saw a broken system and asked, “What if there’s a better way?” He created a solution that didn’t just fix a local problem—it revolutionized the way the entire world gets from point A to point B.
Entrepreneurs see the invisible.
They train their minds to look beyond the obvious. They question how things can be better, faster, or more efficient.
While the 99% complain about the problem, the 1% are busy building the solution.
But it’s not just about spotting million-peso ideas. It’s about finding the small opportunities every single day—the chance to network, to learn something new, to test an idea, or to turn a random conversation into a partnership.
The 1% keep their eyes open, always ready to jump on an opportunity.
While everyone else is waiting for their big break, the entrepreneur is out there making it.
Action Over Perfection
Perfection is the prison most people lock themselves into. They wait for everything to line up—the perfect idea, the perfect timing, the perfect version of themselves.
And they end up waiting forever.
The 99% believe that if they can’t get it exactly right, they shouldn’t do it at all.
But entrepreneurs know that perfection is an illusion. They don’t wait for conditions to be ideal because they know the truth: they never will be. They launch imperfectly. They act first and figure it out along the way.
Reid Hoffman, the founder of LinkedIn, once said, “If you’re not embarrassed by the first version of your product, you’ve launched too late.”
The 1% understand that speed beats perfection. They know that launching something—even if it’s not perfect—is better than launching nothing at all.
Think about the early days of Instagram or Twitter—those apps were nowhere near what they are today. But they didn’t wait for perfect. They launched, learned, and improved. It’s about momentum.
The 1% understand that action creates energy, and energy creates results.
Building Resilience
Setbacks are inevitable. But what separates the 1% from everyone else is their ability to bounce back.
Resilience is the entrepreneur’s superpower.
The 99% crumble when things don’t go their way. They retreat at the first sign of failure. But entrepreneurs? They thrive on adversity.
Resilience isn’t just about enduring hardship; it’s about embracing it. Every rejection, every obstacle, every setback is a test of your resolve. The 1% understand that every “no” gets them closer to a “yes.” They expect resistance, but instead of backing down, they push harder.
J.K. Rowling’s story is a testament to this. Rejected by 12 publishers, her dream of getting “Harry Potter” published seemed impossible. But she didn’t quit. She kept going. And today, those rejections are just a footnote in a wildly successful career.
That’s what resilience looks like. It’s about deciding that no matter how many times you’re knocked down, you’ll get back up.
Cultivate Curiosity
Entrepreneurs are insatiably curious. They are always asking questions, probing deeper, trying to understand how things work. They never stop learning.
The 99% think they’ve got it figured out and coast through life on autopilot. The 1% are constantly in learning mode. They read, they ask, they explore, they challenge assumptions.
Look at Elon Musk. He didn’t start out knowing how to build rockets. He didn’t have a degree in aerospace engineering. But his curiosity was boundless.
He devoured textbooks, immersed himself in the subject, asked the experts, and taught himself what he needed to know to launch SpaceX. That’s the power of curiosity.
The entrepreneurial mind is never satisfied with surface-level answers. It digs deeper. It questions everything. Curiosity is what drives innovation. It’s what turns a good idea into a revolutionary one.
And the best part?
Curiosity is a habit.
It can be developed. Start asking more questions. Be curious about everything. The more you learn, the more you’ll realize just how much opportunity is out there.
Surround Yourself with the Right People
You’ve heard it before: you are the average of the five people you spend the most time with. But here’s the thing—most people surround themselves with the wrong crowd.
They stay in circles that reinforce mediocrity, that celebrate the status quo. The 99% stay comfortable by surrounding themselves with others who think like them.
But entrepreneurs? They are intentional about who they allow into their orbit. They seek out people who challenge them, who push them, who force them to level up. They know that to think like the 1%, they need to surround themselves with people who are already there.
It’s not about networking for the sake of it; it’s about strategic relationships.
The 1% don’t spend their time with complainers, with people who make excuses, or with those who are content with average.
They seek out mentors, peers, and partners who inspire them, who push their thinking, and who make them uncomfortable in the best way.
The Choice is Yours
At the end of the day, the biggest difference between the 1% and the 99% is choice.
Thinking like an entrepreneur isn’t reserved for a select few with a special gift. It’s a choice you make every single day. The choice to step out of your comfort zone. The choice to act before you’re ready. The choice to fail and get back up. The choice to see opportunities where others see obstacles.
The world doesn’t hand success to anyone. It rewards action, perseverance, and relentless curiosity.
Thinking like the 1% starts with a decision. A decision to embrace discomfort, to turn failure into fuel, to spot opportunities in the everyday, and to surround yourself with people who lift you higher.
So, what will it be?
Will you think like the 1%? Or will you stay like the 99%?
The 1% aren’t special—they’re disciplined. They’ve just decided to act. The choice to think and act like an entrepreneur is yours. But remember: the longer you wait, the more you slip into the habits of the 99%.
And that, my friend, is the real trap.
- Entrepreneurs think different. ↩︎
