When you hear the name Homer Simpson, the last thing that will pop into your head is the word entrepreneur. You will most likely recall scenes of him chocking Bart, drinking at Moe’s bar and watching TV. Think a little harder though, and actually, truth be told, nearly every single episode has a different business venture or startup that Homer tries out.
Apart from the obvious comedy the show provides, if you pay attention, there is actually quite a lot you can learn from a business perspective.
Homer sees the opportunity in every situation. In fact he started a massive number of ventures if you think about it. Mr Plow snow plow service, chiropractors clinic (in the garage), car design, selling elephant rides, selling an internet business to Bill Gates, an alcohol bootlegging service, a day care centre and security services to name just a few!
Homer sure has determination and the “let’s do it attitude”. There are however quite a few things you shouldn’t learn from Homer. Basically take every lesson you see and the opposite is correct.
“The three little sentences that will get you through life. Number 1: Cover for me. Number 2: Oh, good idea, boss. Number 3: It was like that when I got here.”
This is actually quite wrong! We recently covered this topic in another article. Admitting you made a mistake is important. Don’t make excuses. If you made a mistake stand up and admit it. The truth will eventually get out no matter what. Just admit to your mistakes. The sooner you do so the better.
“Son, if you really want something in this life, you have to work for it. Now quiet! They’re about to announce the lottery numbers.”
Not much needs to be said about this. Homer is right. At least in the first sentence. There is no substitute for hard work. If you want something you’ve got to go for it. People will tell you it can’t be done. You need to ignore the negative guy and push ahed. Anyone who has ever achieved anything great worked hard for it. The second bit is your typical Simpsons comedy. Don’t take it seriously.
“Trying is the first step towards failure.”
Trying is the first step to possible failure. Do you know what will guarantee failure? Not doing anything at all. It’s better to try and fail than to not try at all. Anything at all that has the even the slightest chance in paying you some form of dividends is going to incorporate risk. Of course you can fail. You can try to build a billion dollar company and fail. You can try and build an app and fail. Anyone who has become a master of anything has failed. People don’t just suddenly become successful. It may appear to be the case as a bystander, but any successful person has achieved his success after falling.
“Kids, you tried your best, and you failed miserably. The lesson is: never try.”
Once again homer comes close. It’s okay to do your best and fail. The lesson is try again. A losers quits if he fails. A winner keeps going until he wins. It’s that simple. It’s simple maths. The more you try the higher your chances. Let’s say for the sake of this example, that every startup has a 10% chance of making it big. You tried once and failed. If you give up, your odds of achieving success are 0%. If you try again your odds are 10%. Which sounds better?
“No matter how good you are at something, there’s always about a million people better than you.”
This is probably true, it’s inevitable that there will be someone out there that is more talented than you. This is meaningless though. As talent alone won’t get you anywhere. You need to factor in hard work. If you want something, if you truly want it, it’s irrelevant if someone out there has more talent than you. You see talent alone is useless. You need to factor in hard work. Hours and hours of beating on your craft. Remember hard work will always beat talent when talent doesn’t work hard. Your rival can be as talented as they want. What counts at the end of the day is this – Who wants it more? If the answer is you, you will win.
