It may seem controversial, but if you want to achieve success you need to be obsessive. It sounds strong, because the term has a socially negative connotation, but this aspect is one of the main qualities of successful people. Many projects need a quota of obsession to solve a particular problem and this aspect also helps not to give up in the most difficult moments.
Don’t get me wrong. I’m not trying to call for all of us to seek to become sociopaths from now on, but if we focus on obsession as the ability to focus on an issue until we find a way forward, we only have one big lesson left. Many funds and accelerators talk about the importance of being in love with the problem, and it is possible that it is because of this.
For “the obsessives,” the search process is more important than the end result. Although it may seem tiring, they actually enjoy this process and know that their persistence will end up allowing them to achieve their goals. They are those who do not settle for the easy, but want to solve difficult problems because they know that this is the only way to achieve great things.
It’s not about an excessive need to control, or a mania that consumes all your thinking. We should not be literal, but the key is to focus on solving a problem and not on the problem itself. A person obsessed with solving a problem will focus on finding a way to solve it, not complaining about it. This can take hours of research, trial and error, but it will eventually yield results. For a reason, great inventors and entrepreneurs have been obsessive in their work.
If you’re drawn to someone else’s work, ask yourself if it’s because you’d really enjoy that job or if it’s because you’re drawn to the challenge of the problem. If this is the latter case, it is possible that you have the mind of an obsessive entrepreneur and you can become someone who changes the world. And it is very possible that the latter is one of the qualities that an investor is looking for when investing.
Today’s society is full of problems to be solved; from climate change to education to social inequality. All these problems require people willing to give their lives to find solutions, and it is precisely now that we need more people who are “obsessed” with solving the problems of our society.
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The content expressed in this opinion column is the sole responsibility of its author, and does not necessarily reflect the editorial line or position of El Mostrador.
