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Are You Crazy?

The more you learn about the world of small business and entrepreneurship, the more you learn of the hardships that one must go through to follow their dream. The road for an entrepreneur is often times not very smooth. You will have to face more challenges and hurdles than you knew existed. Every time you solve a problem, a new one will pop up right in front of you. Sometimes it can be hard to find the courage to keep moving forward.

The most successful entrepreneurs have to be a little crazy about their business. The kind of passion it takes to succeed in any small business environment is not possessed by most people. That is why others around you will constantly challenge what you are doing, saying things like, “why don’t you just get a normal job?”

The easy thing to do is just give up and get a job. Join the rest of the working class and wait for your paycheck at the end of the week. But, as entrepreneurs, we have a responsibility to ourselves to hold true to our vision and see it through to the end. People with that kind of drive and determination will always come out on top when it is all said and done. So embrace the “crazy” inside of you and channel your energy toward achieving success.

How do You Define Success

Success - How do you define it? Dictionary.com first entry says “the favorable or prosperous termination of attempts or endeavors.” After reading that definition, I felt disgusted. Not only with the wording of the definition, but with the entire thought process that must have gone into it. How can we define success as the end of something, as if once we achieve it, we are done?

I believe very strongly that success is not the end goal that we must work towards, but rather success is the way of life that we must work and live with. It is a mindset that can be learned, practiced, and perfected as we develop our passion.

As entrepreneurs, you have to be doing what you love in order to achieve great things. But is it not a success to be doing what you love? I think that the two go hand in hand, and the very nature of the entrepreneurial spirit is to have the mindset of success. Sure monetary success will come later, but you have to start somewhere. I don’t believe that you can call what most entrepreneurs do a “failure” just because their companies don’t blow up or go public. Doing what you love is a success in my book.

And if you think like that, then the hard work that you put into starting a company can seem all that much easier. Sure the work is no different, but when you have the mindset that you have already achieved something, the end goal seems a little clearer. And when that weight of potential failure is lifted off of your shoulders, SUCCESS is the feeling that follows. Work creatively, work confidently, work successfully…