Herman School of Business
What is an entrepreneur?
Everyone wants to be rich. Not everyone is willing to do what it takes to be rich. Most people will take a chance to be rich, an entrepreneur will do almost anything to be rich. This story from one of my books is worth repeating.
Let’s say that you are standing on one side of the woods. And on the other side is one million dollars. There is no path but everyone would take off immediately trying to get to the other side. Because, there is a million dollars waiting over there. In fact, everyone would start walking even if it was only guaranteed to be half a million dollars.
Now let’s change the prize money. Instead of a guaranteed million dollars there is somewhere between a dollar and a million dollars. In that case, most people would stay home, on their side of the woods. Why walk through the dark unknown forest if there might only be one dollar over there? An entrepreneur would start walking even if the woods were on fire.
It is my belief that entrepreneurs are born and not made. They certainly can learn from their environment, and they can be encouraged by others. They can also be held back, by people I call “Skeptators” who are really “skeptical spectators.” These are the people who hold you back. They try to discourage you from following your dream. And while they may really have your interest at heart, they lack your vision, courage, and belief in your idea. And while the entrepreneur would take off through the burning woods, he or she will also turn a deaf ear to the Skeptators. An entrepreneur is a loner. Someone who more than anything else follows their heart, their head, and their gut…tramping through the burning woods while others cry out for them to stop, in search of the prize whether it is a dollar or a million dollars.
If you are really an entrepreneur the only one that can stop you from realizing a dream is yourself. If you were born an entrepreneur than you will eventually find a way to make a dream come true. Now remember, completing your dream is like finding your way through the woods, and the prize may be far less than the million dollars. But, another characteristic of an entrepreneur is that they start walking through the next woods if it is a bigger money prize they seek.
- Posted: 13 October 2007
- Comments: 0
- Category: Business success
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