The Silver Bullet Myth

It doesn’t matter if you’re studying, working in a big company or even if you’re an entrepreneur; everyone is looking for the famous…

It doesn’t matter if you’re studying, working in a big company or even if you’re an entrepreneur; everyone is looking for the famous silver bullet. That perfect shot that will solve all your problems, client acquisition, investment or anything else.

Like many of you, I have asked myself several times, how that guy was so right? How that startup has grown so fast? At a certain point in my career, things started to happen it. I wasn’t aware of anything, and I thought I was letting life just leading me; boy I was wrong about it.

In October 2014, when I left the Renova Energia for a sabbatical year, I began to reflect on how I had arrived at this point on my career and personal life. It was a fantastic reflection fill with discoveries and disappointments.

My first conscious decision had happened in my childhood. I chose to be a student of the Military School of Brasilia (CMB), I had to study hard to pass the admission test. I got rubella three days before the admission test, and I told my mom that the disease wouldn’t stop me from getting into CMB, and I did it.

When I made that choice, so I created a new universe, unlike anything I have ever known. From Military College to the University was a jump, seven years. I started to undergraduate Civil Engineering at UNB. During the following years, I learned a lot, I messed up six times more than I get it right. I learned consciously from the successes, and now I know that my unconscious learned all he could from my mistakes. I had help? Of course! I got many amazing people over the years who have contributed a lot.

What does all this have to do with the silver bullet? I’m getting there, do not give up yet. In April 2016 was at Collision Conference presenting my startup ClickBabá, I had the pleasure of talking to many people, but one, in particular, helped me to understand what is the silver bullet. I was talking to Lynda (great marketing executive) on the Click Babá, how I could increase the conversion of new customers. I explained everything I had already run and planned the marketing point of view. She looked at me and said, “I think you are doing all you can and appear to be all right. Taric, remember there is no silver bullet.”

I was extremely frustrated with her comment, I expected an inspiring provocation. I returned to the booth where I was presenting ClickBabá. I was mulling over it the rest of the day. The next day, I opened the computer, and I started to review the marketing plan, everything I had done right and wrong. I totally took the emotions out of the analysis, I analyzed only the numbers, the results and nothing.

I closed the computer and my eyes. I started thinking about the legend of the silver bullet and werewolf and asked myself: How did this mother fucker know that the silver bullet would kill the werewolf? Impossible! I know it is a fiction, however, let’s believe for a moment that it is true. How he discovered that the secret was the silver? He must have tried to exorcise first, then try to kill the werewolf with a knife and fail, suddenly with a wooden stake, with a lead bullet shot, then brass, iron, steel, …., Probably only at this point the silver must have appeared as an alternative, after all, is silver, it’s not cheap.

The truth is that for every home run, there are a million and a half of attempts before.

Yes, the silver bullet exist. Do not believe that it isn’t real. The simple and ugly truth is: Who has its silver bullet does not share with anyone.

The search for your silver bullet has to be an obsession, a compulsion. You’ll first test what others have done and do you know what will happen? It will not be a silver bullet. It needs to be desired, planned, built, tested, rebuild, tested, rebuild and tested again.

You’ll make several alternatives, and most of them will be a total failure. That’s right, accept the fact that you will fail before you build your own silver bullet.