In Poker, your odds of getting a Royal Flush are 649,739 to 1.
Sounds like a long shot, but there are 525 948.766 minutes in a year so statistically if you are dealt cards at a rate of one per minute you would get your royal flush within less than 1.3 years.
That’s what hanging in there gets for you.
Or you could just work twice as fast and get it done in half the time — If you could survive it.
That’s what working harder does for you.
Or …
If you team up with 100 of your friends you can get one dealt in 3.65 days.
That’s what joint venturing does for you.
Any way you work it, I’m convinced statistically speaking …
“If you want life to come up “heads” and all you get is “tails,” you need to keep flipping the coin.” – Ken McArthur
Eventually, things come up the way you want.
Notice I didn’t say … Wait for things to get better!
In business, your odds of success are better.
According to U.S Dept. of Commerce, Bureau of the Census, Business Dynamics Statistics …
Seven out of ten new employer firms last at least two years, and about half survive five years. More specifically, according to new Census data, 69 percent of new employer establishments born to new firms in 2000 survived at least two years, and 51 percent survived five or more years. Firms born in 1990 had very similar survival rates. With most firms starting small, 99.8 percent of the new employer establishments were started by small firms. Survival rates were similar across states and major industries.
Compare that to the average length of a job …
Three to five years with jobs held between the ages of 18 and 38 having the shortest duration
(source America’s Dynamic workforce: 2006; U.S. Department of Labor)
So I’m Statistically Optimistic.
Odds are …
- 4 out of 5 you will NEVER die of Heart Disease
- 6 out of 7 you will NEVER die of Cancer
- 22 out of 23 you will NEVER die of Stroke
- 35 out of 36 you will NEVER die of Accidental Injury
- 99 out of 100 you will NEVER die of a Motor Vehicle Accident
- 120 out of 121 you will NEVER commit suicide
- 324 out of 325 you will NEVER die as a result of Fire or Smoke
- 1,115 out of 1,116 you will never die of Natural Forces (heat, cold, storms, quakes, etc.)
And if you keep trying, keep learning and focus on solving real problems …
Odds are … you can have your own successful business.
All the best,
Ken McArthur
SpeakUpSaveLives.org
TheImpactFactor.com
KenMcArthur.com
jvAlertLive.com
Awesome way to look at things, Ken! It’s nice to see a positive viewpoint. Thank you for the reminder that circumstances are what I make of them — both in perception and in ACTION.
Have a fantastic day!
Hi Kenneth,
What a great way to look at it! I’ve done something similar in a negative way i.e. a 5% conversion rate means 95 out of 100 are walking away, but I never thought to see those “mortality rates” from your perspective. Maybe they should be immortality rates?
BTW… does “324 out of 325 you will NEVER die as a result of Fire or Smoke” include second hand smoke?
Regards,
Andy
Thanks for putting things in perspective, Ken. Isn’t networking just amazing … how quickly one can overcome the odds compared to opening a new store on mainstreet and waiting for foot traffic. And I love your statistics. I’m an optimist as well, and may just borrow the stats, with attribution, of course.
I’m working hard to beat the odds. It’s one day at a time and one step at a time, the light gets closer every day.
Thanks Ken!
HI IT LOOKS GOOD KEN HAVE A HAPPY DAY IAN PHN NZ 6 8438457 NAPIER NEWZEALAN
I’m still working at success. God is my benefactor.
I loved your quote. Its so true, yet not recognized by many!
God Bless!
Ken,
A positive outlook, backed up by statistics…love it.
This is just the reminder I needed today. Awesome!
Ken, you are right. Truer words were never spoken. This is the Pick me Up that I needed today. Thank you very much.
Lucille
Ah yes, very nice. And the odds are that if you keep persisting success will come more likely than not.
I once developed a computer program that played with random chance at the ‘coin toss” – my goal was to see just how many ‘tosses’ it would take to get 10 x heads in a row.
Did it ever happen? Yes. The highest number of cumulative tosses before it happened was over 8,000. The lowest – 56!!
Proof of the point; chance favors the prepared mind.
– Paul
Love the way you think Ken–
hope to see you again soon.
I’m reminded of the premise behind Seth Godin’s little manifesto (Brainwashed) you refer to occasionally.
Do Work That Matters
1.) Connect
2.) Be Generous
3.) Make Art
4.) Acknowledge the lizard brain
5.) Ship
6.) Fail
7.)Learn
Thanks for the uplifting reminders,
all the best in all your efforts,
Larry
Very true Ken and well stated.
A great person who never gave up and stayed
optimistic learned from his failures quoted this.
Success is 99% failure.
~ quote by Soichiro Honda
Thanks for sharing Ken.
~ Joe Jablonski
Nice piece Ken. Nice.
Waiting for things to get better is likely to get you more of what you are waiting to get away from… the root cause of the bad times for most businesses is the unpreparedness for changing trends and not doing the things that can increase your business.
That is why getting around people who are succeeding is crucial to the average business person. Unless you hear what is working for others, and see the results of perseverance, you are unlikely to take the action that could save your business.
Thanks for letting us know that you are willing to flip that coin for one more day….as I imagine you safely careening towards JvAlert having arranged an all-star extravaganza, a tower of talent at your Orlando destination.
I anticipate magic, marketing and momentum to happen in one building in one weekend.
Please bring back what you need and I look forward to reading and watching this landmark event in your life’s work.
The Very Best!