Entrepreneurs often fall into the trap of magical thinking, just like regular humans.

In today’s culture, many of us can insulate ourselves from reality, avoiding the burdens that come with it. We can scoff at the changes in our climate until we all slowly boil like frogs on the stove, we can ignore our credit card debt until it all comes due, or we can avoid the results of our late-night actions… until they come home to roost. This allows us to focus on how we want things to be, rather than how they actually are.

Entrepreneurs have their own games of deferral. We can seek external funding indefinitely to avoid facing the reality of a business’s financial health, or the reality that it isn’t a business just yet. We can seek backing without perfecting a business model with good pitching skills, and maybe good networking. But this avoidance only delays the inevitable confrontation with market reality. Eventually, only the profitable businesses that maintain a positive cash flow can free themselves from external investors’ opinions and can face the challenges head-on, or choose not to.

It’s crucial to acknowledge and address reality rather than avoiding it, whether entrepreneur or human (or both). Just like going to the doctor to have your blood pressure checked, confronting reality allows us to proactively manage and improve our circumstances. By facing the truth, we can make informed decisions and avoid the pitfalls of denial or wishful thinking.

As Alexander Dumas once said (I think); most of mankind is summed up in two words; Wait, and hope.