The Truth About Better Decision-Making (Collection), 2/e

Truth 48. Belief in your decision can make it come true

Cyrus McCormick had lost everything except the mechanical reaper he had invented. In the panic of 1837, he went bankrupt. The bank took his house, his farm, everything—except his reaper. Like the rest of the world, the bank considered it worthless. It wasn't even worth repossessing. McCormick was the only one who believed it was the future of agriculture. He continued to build and sell his reapers, but it was slow going. By 1844, he had sold 50. If he had walked away then, he'd have been considered a failure. But he didn't. He offered demonstrations that showed how the machines outperformed manual labor. He gave money-back guarantees and payment options to make the reapers more affordable. ...