The life of an entrepreneur is not for everyone, but for those souls brave enough to roll the dice and chase their dream, what an exciting ride it is.
The challenge of spotting an opportunity, executing it, then seeing it succeed must be right up there with some of life’s greater achievements. Entrepreneurs often become workaholics and not just because of the heavy workload (which is part of the downside), but because seeing success happen is so satisfying.
However, it is not for everyone. That’s the good news; the bad news is that may try and fail. I have just finished reading a fantastic book titled The Third Wave by Steve Case, the founder of America Online (AOL), and in it he quotes the famous newspaper ad Ernest Shackleton is said to have placed before his 1914 attempt to explore Antarctica:
“Men wanted for hazardous journey. Small wages. Bitter cold. Long months of complete darkness. Constant danger. Safe return doubtful. Honor and recognition in case of success.”
It doesn’t sound very inviting, a bit like the downside of being an entrepreneur. That is the beauty of entrepreneurship: if you can handle such extremes, and yet, against so many odds, succeed in business, you may not receive honor and recognition, but you will receive extreme satisfaction, along with the chance of wealth.
While this might frighten the life out of you, admittedly, not everyone wants to be an entrepreneur. But with the world changing at such a rapid pace, so is employment. Underemployment is a major challenge the world is facing, and so we will see a world of people who are not naturally entrepreneurial, yet are forced to brave the odds and start their own business to be able to create employment.
So if you’re sitting o the fence and not sure whether to step into the entrepreneurial ring or not, the last words belong to Thomas Edison: “Vision without execution is hallucination”.
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Matt Danswan is the CEO of Initiate Media, publishers of Christian Woman & Co. He is also the author of NOT Business As Usual.
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