RELENTLESS PURSUITS
Can They Sputter and Flip Into Reverse?
The crazier you become about an entrepreneurial venture, the better it is IF you are (actually, and against all odds) a true entrepreneur.
If, in other words, you work yourself into a frenzy because you have what you think is a great idea, you start thinking about applying to “Shark Tank,” you’re ready to bet the farm on your brainstorm because friends and family encourage you, and you know in your heart you’ve got what it takes to revolutionize the marketplace.
But–in the end– you don’t have that magical,
mystical entrepreneurial INSTINCT:
Prepare to Crash!
“Entrepreneurship” is NOT what all the universities and
colleges and entrepreneur centers are actually teaching.
- Just because some disillusioned government leader rewards the dreams of an aspiring faculty member a wad of grant money, doesn’t mean you, the student, will learn how and be able to become an entrepreneur.
- Just because some misguided instructor thinks that “teaching entrepreneurship” will generate increased personal income for her or his family vacations while simultaneously being able to ignite the community economy, doesn’t mean you, the student, will learn how and be able to become an entrepreneur.
- And just because campus administrators are dancing in the board room because one of their faculty has just generated grant money into their building fund, does not mean that you, as a student, will learn how and be able to become an entrepreneur.
Neither does any of it mean that what you learn can be turned into a cash cow for you or your friends or family or community–all of whom, because of your genius and your wonderful entrepreneurial training will be able to live happily ever after.
B e c a u s e :
No one can TEACH you
how to become an entrepreneur!
You can learn about how an entrepreneur thinks and acts and makes things happen, and you can convince yourself that you can muster what it takes to follow these guidelines into Entrepreneurville.
You will hopefully discover in time to save your savings that entrepreneurs are NOT the risk-takers most of society would have us believe. Risk-taking is NOT a trait of entrepreneurs. Real entrepreneurs take only REASONABLE risks.
But you can’t and you won’t fit the elusive entrepreneurial “mold” (if there is such a thing) unless you were born with the instinct — the will to succeed at all costs and, the most crucial characteristic: the ability to take the intuitive steps necessary to make that happen.
Lectures and textbooks and “hands-on” activities can give you a sense of what it’s all about, but they cannot instill instinct.
Does not having this deep-seated sense of intuition —the inherent ability to have innate, inherent, inbred, spontaneous, consistently productive hunches-– mean that you’ll fail?
No. It simply means you are not an entrepreneur. But not being the entrepreneur you thought you were doesn’t mean you are doomed to failure.
You may simply need to rise to the occasion of being contented with being the best you can be instead of trying to be something you’re not. You may need to settle with the notion that success translates to hard work that produces steady long-term business growth, and to having to struggle through setbacks you never saw coming. Above all, you need to accept and work within the framework of reality. Yes, reality!
As with the critical 5 criteria of effective goal-setting (being specific, flexible, realistic, due-dated, and in writing), true entrepreneurship is marked first and foremost by being realistic!
And just as not meeting all five goal-setting criteria produces nothing more than a wish-list ticket to Fantasyland, so too does a reckless charge at entrepreneurship end up producing failure by cultivating a business-life platform based on make-believe.
All the time? No. Nothing is always, including the word “nothing.”
So the bottom line IS:
If you’re entrepreneur material, you’ll know it and so will others (including savvy investors).
If you’re not a true entrepreneur, welcome to the vast majority of businesspeople and the reality that –even though you may have missed the “E” Ship– your odds for business startup and growth success are measured exclusively by: how hard you’re willing to work at making your venture productive for yourself, your family, for those who work with you, and for your community.
Your actions may need to be more calculated than spontaneous, but that doesn’t mean they will end up having any less impact. What’s important is that you start out by being realistic and by measuring the steps you take with a reality yardstick.
Don’t be fooled into thinking that some educational venue or individual can teach you how to launch your interests into outer space… to become another Steve Jobs, or Lori Greiner, or Mike Lindell, or Mark Zuckerberg, or Oprah Winfrey, or Donald Trump, or Beyonce, or Mark Cuban, or Frank Purdue.
Accept yourself for who you are,
but never settle for who you are
capable of becoming.
Courses on entrepreneurship may help shed some light on the directions and kinds of decisions that produce entrepreneurial success stories, but choosing those directions for yourself and making those kinds of decisions will not make you an entrepreneur anymore than a new car or suit of clothes will make you into another person. They may make you feel good, but they won’t change your skill set.
Work at and stick to
what you know best,
and what you do best,
and what you like most
. . . and you will succeed!
# # #
Guidance to Over 500 Successful Business Startups
Open Minds Open Doors
Make today a GREAT day for someone!
God Bless You and Thank You for Your Visit!
