July 16, 2008
I hope this week's newsletter finds you enjoying the summer. I have just returned from a short "road trip" with good friends. It was four days of childlike fun and adventure. How long has it been since you dropped everything and simply took a break? No agenda, no email, no phone calls. It is amazing how much energy and new resolve a short break can provide. I challenge you to call some old friends and take your own road trip before summer is over.
During one stretch of the trip, while the car was quite, I spent some time reflecting on some of the the things I have attempted in life. Not just the successes but also the ones that did not work out so well. I believe we are who we are because of these experiences. Without at least some entrepreneurism,(I think that's a word) some or all of these would not have happened. We are all driven in some way by our entrepreneurial spirit. It is a very loud voice in some, just a whisper in others, but all of us have it to some degree. Hopefully this weeks article will help you find and develop your entrepreneurial spirit.
Entrepreneur
Do you know someone that you would use this word to describe? What traits or characteristics would come to mind if I asked you to define what an entrepreneur was? Gambler? Expert? Rebel? Wealthy? Bankrupt?
Let's take a few minutes and see if we can create a more realistic view of an entrepreneur. You might be surprised. According to Wikipedia, an entrepreneur is someone "who attempts to organize resources in new and more valuable ways and accepts full responsibility for the outcome".
We often see entrepreneurs as risk takers. This comes not from a gamblers mentality, but more from having a passion about the idea they have. They believe so strongly that what they have will work, it is not really a gamble at all.
Entrepreneurs are sometimes thought to lack focus or be un-organized. The truth is that they are visionaries. They think "bigger" than others. To become more organized might actually slow them down or cause them to be less productive. This is sometimes a costly aspect of their life, but in most cases, the value of their ideas more than offsets the cost.
Entrepreneurship is often difficult and tricky, as many new ventures fail. But by no means are they failures. How many success stories have you listened to that involved many failed efforts before financial success was achieved. I remember one music artist saying it had only taken six albums for her to be awarded the "Best New Artist" award.
If you consider yourself an entrepreneur, I applaud you. Our countries economic structure is dependent upon your ideas, passion and successes. Here are some of the things I have found that as a coach, I can do to support and encourage your creativity:
You do not need to be "fixed". You are who you are and we need to enhance your strengths and abilities.
You need to create. Talking through possibilities can be one avenue for this. Entrepreneurs typically benefit from having someone just listen to them.
You have a lot of things in your mind that you "could" do. I will help you sort those out and work on the ones that could potentially be the most successful.
You are naturally very competitive. I will push you to always play to win, no matter what "game" you are playing.
A support structure is important to your success. I will help you develop a support structure that takes your idea and turns it into a revenue stream.
If you are an entrepreneur, or even think you might be, I am proud of you. Embrace who you are, and take the steps necessary to insure not only an enjoyable creative life, but also one that is financially rewarding.
Until next time,
Russell
