“Staying the course” means giving up potentially way better things you could be doing. Better use of euros. Better use of minutes. Better use of brainwaves.

Here’s how W.C. Fields puts it: “If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again. Then quit. No use being a damn fool about it.”}

http://www.mckinseyquarterly.com/article_abstract.aspx?ar=1768&l2=21&l3=37&srid=63&gp=1}

Soon we realized that market for that was at best limited and focussed on our core offering of Mobile IM. We quit the mobile gaming business and it reaped rich dividends.}

They are working on an idea which could be very successful if they only devote their time. But before even reaching some kind of milestones, they’re thinking about the next idea and moving to it while leaving the first product to die an horrible and long death.

It’s true that the ability of an entrepreneur to move very fast and change his repertoire is very important for his success. If you work on 10-20 ideas in your life span, you will probably end up being successful on one or two of them; but you’re probably end up missing 5 or 6 that could have been even bigger than your idea which succeeded.

I would say that this thin line between staying focused and moving to the next big thing is too thin to notice when you’re ready to step over it.

I’ve recently decided to take a break from school after 3 years of hard working study. I have only 1 year left, but I believe that it would be foolish to finish this year while I have a bigger opportunity to seize. Am I a fool? Maybe, but that’s what I love about being an entrepreneur.}

On one hand, I know a lot of entrepreneurs who I look at and say, “Man– that business/idea is a dead end. He should run screaming!”

I probably know MORE entrepreneurs who fail on the other side of the coin– quitting too often. We’ve all seen it– entrepreneurial ADD. They latch onto an idea, work like crazy on it to the point where it’s no longer any fun. Instead of a barrel of promise and potential, it’s a warty alpha product that needs a LOT of work. About that time, a new idea pops into their head that is decidedly wart free! And it’d be easy! And oh-so-viral!

I think we’re pretty well trained by the media to think that a “dip” is a sign of failure (Did YouTube have one? Facebook?). But I think 99% of startups have ‘em.}

Forming a Hypothesis then validating it occurs naturally with any startup and should be embraced as a process/methodology early in the game.}