(This is the first part of a limited-time 5 part series on the
myths and mindset problems that hold businesses back.)
I don’t even like the word “entrepreneur.”
I grew up thinking that entrepreneurs were some kind of special
creature. Maybe it came from an extra chromosome or something.
Entrepreneurs were a “different breed.” It took some rare
combination of talent, energy, and foolhardiness to be an
entrepreneur. They have a superhuman willingness to accept risk. They have legendary abilities to see into the future, to read
trends, to handle the complexities and stress of owning a business.
The implication is that the rest of us are “bred” for a day job, right?
That the norm is to work for a company, let them decide what
you’ll work on, how you’ll work on it, and how much money you can
make.
I think this is actually a complete mis-reading of human nature.
For most of our history, we human beings have taken care of
ourselves
Not as lone wolves, but within small village or tribal groups. Everyone
had a role. Everyone made a contribution.
Sure, there have always been leaders. But a tribe living in the
desert or the forest can’t afford a CEO who sits around all day and
thinks.
Everyone works. Everyone tries to contribute their greatest gifts. Everyone makes decisions about how they’ll live their lives, and how they can best support their families and the tribe.
There are no Policies and Procedures documents. Everyone puts
together their own mix of “what’s always worked” with “what could
we do better?”
Autonomy is in your genes
If it wasn’t, your ancestors would never have survived to get you
here.
If your great-great-great-great-great grandmother had been a
mindless drone who waited to do as she was told, she would never
have been able to do the hard work of raising her children and
dealing with tremendous hardship.
Making smart decisions is in your genes. Managing risk (in a smart
way, not the dumb foolhardy way we think entrepreneurs do) is in
your genes. Innovation is in your genes.
Bravery is in your genes.
You already have, inherent in your human genetic blueprint, all the
ingredients to be an entrepreneur. It’s not some mystical status
given to the precious few. It’s your essential nature.
And reawakening that nature isn’t as hard as you’ve been told.
Stay tuned for the next message in the series, “Lie #2: It’s All or
Nothing.”
Leave a Reply