The difference between those who merely cope and those who excel lies in one key principle: the ability to filter the signal from the noise.
This idea, which applies equally to life, leadership, and strategy, is crucial when navigating any path that demands clarity especially entrepreneurship. Whether it’s in developing personal focus or executing a corporate strategy, the challenge remains the same: avoid being overwhelmed by irrelevant data (noise) and focus on the few decisions (signal) that truly drive outcomes.
Signal is the final decision borne from careful evaluation, while noise comprises the discarded alternatives. While too many options can muddy the waters, no alternatives at all may mean the chosen path is poorly tested. Great strategy comes from embracing the chaos of many ideas and sharpening one powerful course forward.
For renowned investor and entrepreneur Kevin O’Leary, this clarity of focus is non-negotiable. Speaking recently on the Diary of a CEO podcast, O’Leary stressed that only a third of people are truly cut out for entrepreneurship. The rest, he says, can still live successful and fulfilling lives as employees, but they must understand what they’re giving up: freedom.
“You won’t be shackled to the ups and downs of entrepreneurship,” O’Leary said. “But you’ll never be free. And that’s the debate: Do you want personal freedom? It’s the only path.”
O’Leary would know. In 1983, he founded SoftKey Software Products from his basement in Toronto. The company grew into a global educational software powerhouse, eventually selling to Mattel for $3.7 billion in 1999. Decades later, as a judge on Shark Tank and a mentor to students at Harvard, he still emphasizes that entrepreneurship is not about chasing riches, it’s about pursuing freedom with obsessive clarity.
“It’s not about the pursuit of greed,” he said. “You will fail if you do that. It’s the undying love of freedom.”
But success in entrepreneurship, O’Leary argues, requires a laser focus, a mindset that sifts through daily distractions to execute the most important three to five tasks with precision. That’s the signal. Everything else is noise.
O’Leary likens this discipline to tech visionary Steve Jobs, who he worked with during his career. “For Steve Jobs, the ratio was 80/20; 80 percent signal, 20 percent noise,” he said. “The geniuses of their time? They were close to 100 percent signal.”
He draws a similar comparison with Elon Musk. “Elon Musk, he has no noise. He does not deal with noise. Sixty seconds of every minute, 60 minutes of every hour, the 18 hours he’s awake, it’s all signal. And look what he’s achieved.”
Other top achievers agree. Fellow Shark Tank investor Mark Cuban highlights relentless work ethic as the key to success. Tennis legend Serena Williams insists on discipline and daily effort. Venture capitalist Marc Andreessen describes great founders as those who simply cannot not build. “Very few” have that drive, he said, aside from outliers like Musk.
But Andreessen also reminds us of the cost. “Do I want to go through the stress, the pain, the trauma, the anxiety, and the risk of failure?” he asks. That’s the brutal trade-off behind the freedom entrepreneurship promises.
