The question isn't who will let you; it's what will stop you.

We mostly hear about the winners (like Facebook and Apple), not the many entrepreneurs who tried similar approaches and failed. This creates a false picture that can lead to poor business decisions.

Picture yourself walking through a graveyard where only the fanciest tombstones still stand. Time crumbled away the simple ones. Looking around, you might think everyone buried here was wealthy. You're just seeing the survivors.

Survivorship bias does the same thing to our understanding of entrepreneurship. We hear endless stories about Mark Zuckerberg dropping out of Harvard to build Facebook, or how Steve Jobs stayed deeply involved in every detail at Apple (that's founder-mode). These stories make dropping out of school and staying super hands-on seem like the secrets to business success.

Pure poppycock. For every Zuckerberg or Jobs, thousands of entrepreneurs dropped out and failed, or stayed too involved in their companies and killed them with micromanagement. We don't hear their stories because failures don't make headlines or write bestselling books.

When you start a business, survivorship bias tricks you into thinking the path is easier than it is. You might quit your job too quickly because you heard about someone who "took the leap" and made millions. Or you might refuse to hire managers because you read that successful founders stay in control of everything. As your business grows, survivorship bias becomes even more dangerous. You might ignore warning signs because you remember reading about companies that "powered through" difficult times. Many companies tried to power through and crashed and burned, and you just never heard about them.

Even when making big decisions, survivorship bias clouds your judgment. If nine startups failed trying a risky strategy but one succeeded spectacularly, guess which story gets told? The success story gets shared in podcasts, books, and conferences, while the failures quietly disappear. But remember that success stories are like those fancy tombstones that survived to be seen. For every entrepreneur living their dream, many others experienced terror, pain, disappointment, bankruptcy, or just decided to return to regular jobs. Understanding this doesn't mean you shouldn't take risks or see where your vision takes you. Rather, you should make decisions based on complete information, not just the highlight reel.

Survivorship bias exists, and you should factor it into your thinking. Look for data on failures, not just successes, and plan for setbacks, not just victories.

Underneath the peak of every overnight success story you hear, there is a mountain of failures you have never heard about.