Over the past week I have kept stumbling upon people sharing their startup experiences and revealing the truth about what startup living is really like. Now we have shows like Shark Tank that make starting your own business seem like the fairytales of your adult life. If I may expand upon this analogy; you become the prince (or warrior princess), your startup idea becomes the damsel (or gentleman) in distress, and your funders are either your fairy godmother or your dragon. However, for the vast majority of entrepreneurs, here are a few myths that I’d like to bust before the fantasy takes over.

1. You do not succeed in a day, a month, or even a year. 

Last week was Global Entrepreneurship Week and I attended an event where a friend of mine sat on a panel discussion about young entrepreneurs. He was the one to tell all of the students in the audience that you don’t go from “AHA Moment” to becoming the next Facebook or Twitter….and even those companies needed time to get the ball rolling. Another panelist, who had recently received a $2.3 million investment from a VC fund, followed up with his story. He works on his company for approximately 6 years before actually obtaining funding!

2. Going all in doesn’t really mean going ALL in.

This one I picked up from my current read: The All In Startup. This author explains that starting a business is like a strategic poker game…if you want to be in it for the long run, you play smart, making little bets to ‘test the waters’ until you know when you can successfully go all in.