What is an Entrepreneur?

A true entrepreneur is not just somebody who doesn’t like to work for others. It is somebody who has a burning desire to create new systems and build upon existing ones. An entrepreneur is always thinking of ways to improve everything they come in contact with. Successful entrepreneurs have a part of them that is extremely lazy. This laziness is what causes them to relentlessly think of new ways to make things easier on everybody. They are obsessive problem-solvers; they see every challenge as an opportunity to show people a better way of doing something.

The typical office environment drives entrepreneurs up a wall. As does the traditional 9-to-5 routine. They don’t do well being micro-managed. They were the kids in school who didn’t listen to the teacher before starting their assignments. They would rather do something quickly, fail, and then learn a better way to do it. Entrepreneurs like to fail fast and fail often, because they know this is the best way to learn. You can’t learn anything by doing things you already know how to do.

Entrepreneurs do not struggle with rejection because they are very forward-thinking. They live in the future; in a world that they are creating in their mind. A world of endless possibilities, opportunities and freedom. Entrepreneurs create things. They have a bigger vision than they can even put into words. They see tons of ways of improving the lives of others and are willing to endure incredible pain, uncertainty and stress for the sake of helping others. They truly see the impacts of their creative thoughts in the future and that is what keeps them motivated.

To them, risk is not the possibility of losing money in a business venture. True risk is settling into a job or career that limits their capabilities. They are extremely fearful of wasting precious years of their life not chasing their dreams. Entrepreneurs always one-up themselves. They have a great idea and then they trump their original idea with something better. They get excited about new ideas and often abandon good ideas for better ones. A lot of their projects remain unfinished in the pursuit of newer and more exciting ones. The thought of creating the next Apple or Google keeps their brain running at high RPM’s and is the reason they can so easily let go of good ideas. They are never worried about running out of ideas. Their anxiety comes from running out of time to pursue the good ideas that constantly come pouring out of them.

Above all, they see the world differently. They are optimistic yet very hard on themselves. Everything can be improved upon. They are often trouble-makers. They hate seeing things continuously done the same way. There is always a way to improve. Entrepreneurs are people that have the confidence in themselves and their ideas – enough so to bet and risk it all. Then when it fails, they get right back up and do it again. They know that with enough failures, success is a certainty.

Why not you?

You really never know when a moment of inspiration is going to hit you like a ton of bricks. I certainly didn't know that I would hear such an incredibly profound comment following the devastating Super Bowl loss of my hometown Denver Broncos. It sent chills down my spine and I knew I was going to have to write about it. The comment was made by the Seattle Seahawks quarterback, Russell Wilson. I was absolutely crushed, not that the Broncos lost, but that they really didn't even show up for the biggest game of the season. For some reason, I didn't shut the game off at halftime and furthermore, didn't shut it off immediately following the game. I am very thankful that I didn't.

After the game they interviewed Russell Wilson. What he said, I truly didn't expect to move me like it did. I am paraphrasing most of the interview, but he really took time to thank his father for the win. He went on to say that his dad was the most inspirational person in his life and talked about how his dad would never allow him to think small. Russell said that anytime he had an ambitious goal or something that he really wanted to accomplish, his dad would ask him “why not you?” He truly encouraged his son to think bigger than everybody else. He was instilling a confidence in his son that he was talented enough to accomplish whatever he wanted to. When he pursued a career in professional baseball, his dad asked him the same question. When he gave up baseball to pursue a career in the NFL, his dad was there saying the same thing. These 3 incredible words have the power to crush your limiting beliefs. It’s incredibly easy to find a reason you cannot accomplish something. It’s also easy to find a person that will tell you that you are incapable of accomplishing something. People will tell you things like “what makes you so special?” Or “do you know how rare it is for someone to be a millionaire?” If you can change your thoughts you can change your life. Thoughts are just the compass that sets the trajectory of your life. If you are continuously thinking that something is impossible, that prophecy will be fulfilled. If you constantly believe that nothing is impossible, the same holds true. You can only accomplish things as big as your mind can conceive. If you believe you are capable of writing a New York Times Bestselling book, you will. If you believe that life is hard and earning money is extremely difficult, guess what? That is going to be the story of your life.

               

The question, “why not you?” simply gives you permission to dream big. These words are a wonderful excuse to not be realistic. Being realistic makes you like everybody else. Realistic is just a word that people have created, who are too afraid to dream big. Don’t ever listen to somebody who tells you to “be more realistic”. Those words are designed to limit the size of your dreams. Being realistic, means you are settling for something that is not exactly what you want. I say give yourself permission every day to be unrealistic. Dream as big as you possibly can. If your goal is a little bit scary and you’re not sure how you are going to accomplish it, great! That means you are starting to push yourself to the next level and more importantly, starting to think big. Belief is the first step towards accomplishment. You will never accomplish anything you don’t believe. Believing something, gives you the energy to not quit and to not give up when things get tough or don’t go your way. It’s a source of inspiration to keep you fighting through the tough times. It’s what gets you back up when you get knocked down.

Ever since that interview with Russell Wilson, I ask myself “why not me?” all the time. It’s such a powerful phrase to help you refocus on your ambitions and goals. I just wish everyone in the world thought like this. Can you imagine how much more everybody would accomplish if they only held onto their ambitions and didn't give up? It doesn't matter what your goal is, you can accomplish it. Think about it. Why can’t you be millionaire? Why can’t you run a marathon? Why can’t you own a Ferrari? Why can’t you be the most incredible father that you know? It’s time to stop making excuses for why you can’t accomplish something and give yourself a reason to go out and make it happen! If there are people doing things that you wish you were doing, I am going to ask you that simple question that you know is coming:  “Why not you?”

Tackling the Elusive New Habit

We all have some area of our life that we would like to improve upon – so how do you do it? Especially if it is something that has eluded you for years…..exercising, eating healthy, reading, taking classes at the local community college, etc. If you think that to get healthy you need to start exercising 3 days per week, don’t! I’m serious, this is the advice I am giving you right now. You can stop reading now if you would like, but I promise I am going somewhere with this.

As people, especially introducing a new habit into our routine, we are overly ambitious. We know that to lose 30 lbs we can’t work out for 5 minutes, one time each week and expect the desired result. I would argue that that is exactly what we need to do. Creating a habit is much more effective for long-term results than designing a perfect workout plan that you are never going to stick to. Think about the gym on New Year’s Day. It is full of people that are finally making the decision to get healthy, which is great. The reason so many people fail is because they start too big; they try to transform their whole routine around and then a few short months later, they fall back into their old habits. People are much more likely to stick with something simple and small. Set yourself up for success not failure, and remember that you can always add a day when you are ready; building the habit is the most important step towards becoming successful at something new.

Remember that little successes repeated over and over again, are extremely motivating for your psyche. Every day that you accomplish your tiny little goal, you build momentum. You start thinking, “boy if I can work out once a week for 5 minutes, I could definitely do twice a week for 15 minutes”. That’s exactly the kind of thinking that will catapult you to the next level with whatever you are trying to accomplish. I utilize this principle in all areas of my life. When there is an incredibly difficult and challenging economics book that I am reading, I commit to something extremely small, repeated over and over. I commit to reading 2 pages per day and you know what? I usually end up reading 10. It’s the act of acting that builds momentum. A body at rest will stay at rest, but a body in motion, will continue to seek motion (both literally and figuratively).

Make a commitment today to pick 1 thing that you would truly like to get better at and create a manageable daily activity that will help you begin building momentum. Once you do this in one area of your life it will spill over into other areas. Stay focused on what you can control and don’t worry about the results. Find a way to get a little bit better today than you were yesterday and repeat. Believe me, I am rooting for you. Go out and kick some ass today!