Yello,
This week I have been researching a psychological concept: cognitive biases.

So I present to you 2 ideas colliding: Survivorship bias and negativity bias.

The idea of survivorship bias is that if you survive a situation, or if you win, you think everyone could too. It explains why gurus will tell you you can be a successful entrepreneur if only you did what they did.
Now, negativity bias. I have to admit, I tend to be very sceptical of tales of success, I just know they generally don't tell the whole story, if they even tell the story at all. I more readily believe a failure story.

How are these concepts relevant to this week's newsletter? Well, I came across many videos where people were complaining about the French system for entrepreneurs (specifically the "auto entrepreneur" legal structure (as they call the solopreneur), which I would fall under) and how unfair, expensive, and unsustainable it is.
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I was, of course, taken by the latter, ( because of my own negative bias), so I have been spiralling a bit. Then I researched the facts and therefore came to my senses. What I came to realise is that yes, in the case of being an auto entrepreneur, the French system is not as advantageous as the UK system I come from: The French don't tax you on profits; they tax you on revenue regardless of your business expenses. But knowing this makes you strategise. You are incentivised to keep your overheads low.

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And a little side note: incentive is the key word. It's good to always ponder where the incentive is leaning. Because with the example at the outset, the guru's incentive is for you to believe you can make it, so you enlist his help, buy his course, book, services, what have you. And they might be sincere. They are mingling with people as successful as they are. They see enough successful people to think it can be the norm. As far as the loud YouTube complainers, they are incentivised to paint a dark picture, maybe even darker than it really is because the algorithms prefer outrage, rage bait, and the like. More attention for such videos, therefore more engagement, more money.

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Now think about it, who is not incentivised to be anywhere we can see? The entrepreneur who is making ends meet, who has a modest successful venture, minding his own business. He may not be very visible because the algorithms won't push him like they do others.

Maybe that's where I belong. Away from the extremes. Talking sense, being sensible, not trying to be the darling of the algorithms...

Now, can you think of how the algorithms may be shaping your perspective clandestinely? Surely I can't be the only one? :P

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Have a Sage Sunday and a Wiser Week!

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Agape.

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R.

P.S: I'm trying to get back to posting on the site every Friday again. Check out my last piece!​