Ever heard of the Flywheel Effect? Jim Collins explains it in Good to Great. Imagine the London Eye—a massive wheel weighing hundreds of tons. It takes a lot of effort to get moving but, with consistent pushes, it eventually builds unstoppable momentum.

Now, contrast that with an airplane propeller. It fires up almost instantly, reaching top speed in seconds. Sounds exciting, right? But here’s the snag: running a business is nothing like a propeller.

No Magic Switch for Success

New entrepreneurs—and even experienced optimists—sometimes fall into the “propeller trap.” They hope for a single, magical solution to propel their business to success overnight. Friends and colleagues often ask me, “Did you make it? Have you found the secret?”

Spoiler alert: there’s no secret. Success isn’t binary. It’s not about either hitting the jackpot or being doomed. That’s a TV drama, not real life. The truth? Building a business is more flywheel than…