The concept of hard work is a total lie.

They say that’s how you get ahead in life: you work harder than the next guy - and you get rewarded. And the more hours you put in, the bigger the reward. Just look at the famous entrepreneurs who built their amazing businesses from scratch. They all worked extremely hard for many years - and look what they achieved!

Here is the problem: if you are the hardest working cashier, no amount of hard work will make you as successful as Elon Musk.

Even if you’re the one breaking your back from dawn to dusk every day, ten years from now you’ll probably be sitting in the same chair in the same supermarket - only older and much more tired. Or, more likely, you’ll be replaced by self-service technology. So unemployed.

What else, if not hard work?

Having witnessed many so-called “success stories” (and some of them quite big), I’ve come to the conclusion that there is only one common factor: risk-taking.

When I look around, I see a direct correlation between how much risk one has taken and how far they have gotten. And vice versa: all the people I know who haven’t progressed enough were simply too scared to take a step forward. This correlation is evident and just mind-blowing.

Here’s my problem: on the “boldness scale”, I’d rate myself as a 5 - on a scale of 1 to 10.

By nature, I’m quite cautious, and taking risks comes at the price of extreme anxiety for me. But I feel that if I want to do what I want to do, I need to be at least a 7. Maybe meditate more? Take a pill? Just stop giving a f…?

No matter how cautious you are, you just have to be brave to succeed big time. Sometimes stupidly brave.