The Most Dangerous Word in Entrepreneurship is "Try"

Image credit: Courtesy of Carla Ondrasik

If you want to build a business, there's one word you need to eliminate from your vocabulary: It's the word try .

Sometimes, we aren't even given the option to try. For example, when the airline issues your boarding pass, the message isn't "try to be at the gate by 9:30 because we'd sure like to try and take off by 10:00!" When the utility company sends your monthly bill, the payment stub doesn't read, "Please try to make your payment so we can try to keep your lights on." When your car is on empty, your dashboard doesn't whisper, "Hey, love, please try and fill me up when you can, cheers!" Instead, it lights up with a gas pump icon, sounds alarms, and might even start blinking. It's basically yelling, "I'm starving and going to stall if you don