Of
all the questions we leave unanswered, the one that comes back to haunt
us the most is :"What if…"
What
if I'd married my college sweetheart?
What
if I had the good sense not to?
What
if I had been born in this job market?
What
if...
What
if I'd planned a little less?
What
if I'd lived a little more?
What
if I'd chucked it all and started my own company?
'What
ifs' are never idle fantasy. These are our hopes, dreams and desires.
Logic
and reason are the naphthalene balls we use to pack them away into
a sandook called 'Someday'. But when that day comes we are too old,
too poor, too tired or too lazy.
The thing with
entrepreneurship is you can't afford to have a big ego. You want to
stay in business, you do every bit of business that comes along.
You want to keep the dream afloat, you don't care what the
neighbours and relatives have to say about who wears the pants
in your house.
Entrepreneurship is about dozens of
small leaps of faith. Taken every day. Often, you have to take a contrarian stand. You can't say why but this feels
right. And you have to have it your way. The very act of becoming
an entrepreneur is contrarian to ‘middle class values’; study hard, get a good
job, be happy with secure income and steady salary.
Entrepreneurs are seekers. And they are always open to
change. There are different kinds of pressures operating at
each stage- you evolve, and learn to cope with them.
And if you chase something long
enough, sooner or later you will get lucky.
If you are really lucky then you will do it in 5 years, if you are
moderately lucky then you will do it in 10 years, if you are terribly
unlucky you will do it in 15 years.”
“But if we had missed this bus, I
would have continued working at what I was doing and maybe I would
have succeeded at something else 5-6 years hence. The
point is to try long enough and hard enough. I think persistence
is a quality that you have to have, to be a successful
entrepreneur.”
If you love your work, and it gives
your life meaning, then you will have fun through the difficult times.
You will find it in your heart tokeep going. You will never lose hope.
You see, there is no such thing as a
failed entrepreneur. You are a failed entrepreneur only when you
quit. Until then, you are simply not successful… yet.
Your
reality is what you make of it. If you see life with an 'all is
wonderful in this world' pair of lenses, that's how it is. This
is against conventional wisdom. The middle class ethic
of being careful and completely realistic about the big,
bad world around you.
You make a plan, even a roadmap. But
there could be a vehicle coming at you at full speed from
right around the bend. It’s all about facing these bends with courage.
An entrepreneur is a person who has a
mind of his own. And that is clear not just from the act of
starting an enterprise, but also through decisions taken through the course of her or his
life.
Entrepreneurship is an itch. The
only ointment which soothes it is work. Lots and lots of it! And it
must be interesting, intensive and audacious.
“Like Indira Gandhi used to say,
when I am down, and I am pushed against the wall, my best comes
out and I don't give up. The fighter in me, the animal in me comes
out and says, ‘I will do it and show them’.
Truly inspirational.) so powerful your words are.!!, I think its a routine for me now, used to visit your page atleast once in a day to check new posts (especially poems), so nice to read your old posts as well. Your writings are more than enough, no need of books.!!!
ReplyDeleteAs i read this article entirely, i could relate some of your thoughts to tolstoy three questions story..:)
Thanks for this post . This has inspired me a lot and has given me an idea about what a true entrepreneur is all about.. I have become your big fan ..
ReplyDeleteThank you :) Keep visiting !
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