The Heroic Entrepreneur: Profiting from Your Brilliance
If you look up the definition of hero in Webster's, you'll find a definition something like, 'A person noted for feats of courage or nobility of purpose, especially one who has risked or sacrificed his or her life: soldiers and nurses who were heroes in an unpopular war'. Some heroes in our lives have earned that badge of honor by doing something everyone feels is heroic as defined in the traditional sense, whether it's running into a burning building to rescue a child, pulling an injured woman from a car accident, or fighting the enemy in the time of war.
I recently rented the movie, Seabiscuit, which started my thinking about this whole notion of heroism. What I found heroic in the movie was not that both Seabiscuit and his jockey. Red Pollard, came back from adversity to win the Santa Anita race. What was most heroic is that neither of them let adversity stop them in the pursuit of their passion. They knew they were born to do what they were doing, and despite physical setbacks, found the courage to pursue their passion anyway. In the pursuit of this passion, the paths that their lives took had a profound impact on all they came into contact with, most especially with Seabiscuit's owner, Charles Howard, and trainer, Tom Smith. Howard and Smith got in touch with their owns gifts as a result of their contact with Pollard and Seabiscuit, and racing history was changed forever.
Where would we be today in the world without these people who discovered their brilliance, changed the world in some way by following their passion, and have become famous because they followed their dreams: Albert Einstein, Henry Ford, Bill Gates, Debbie Fields, Stephen Spielberg, Oprah Winfrey, Julia Roberts, and Mark Victor Hanson, to name a few?
There are others who aren't yet famous yet are heroic every day because they have discovered their brilliance and their gifts and share those with the world. My virtual assistant, Jean Hanson, who, after years in retail and helping her husband run a cleaning business, now loves to step into the lives and businesses of her clients and is thrilled with her ability to help them achieve their goals. It's due to Jean's love of helping me achieve my business dreams that I'm able publish a weekly email newsletter and inspire my readers to take action to live better lives and create better businesses.
My brother started his firefighting career at the tender age of 15, now continues to serve as the youngest-elected chief of the local volunteer fire department, fire marshall for the city in which he lives, and Assistant. Emergency Management Coordinator for his local tri-county region. When the space shuttle Columbia exploded mid-air on February 1, 2003, and debris rained down on East Texas, he organized and managed an incredible volunteer effort to retrieve shuttle debris and remains of the astronauts, 5 of whom were recovered through his team's search efforts. How would NASA's ability to thoroughly examine the debris and research the cause of the explosion have changed if my brother hadn't been there spearheading the rescue, following his passion of firefighting, and leading with his gifts to organize and delegate large numbers of people in times of crisis?
Each of us has a unique gift that we bring to the world, and I truly believe that we all are here to fulfill a purpose that ties in with our gifts. The impact that your gift will have on the lives of others can be incredibly amazing, so you definitely owe it to yourself, at a minimum, to discover that gift.
As a business owner, perhaps you've discovered your brilliance and are able to pursue that daily in the operation of your business. If you're like most business owners, however, you often lose sight of why you started your business and get bogged down in doing those day-to-day things that drive you nuts but are necessary evils for keeping your business afloat, yet prevent you from living your brilliance. If that's the case, grab a sheet of paper and make two columns: Things I Love and Everything Else. In your Things I Love column, write down only those activities you love to do in your business.
For me, it's pretty simple: writing, speaking, coaching, and marketing. All the other things that need to happen in my business, from bookkeeping to website maintenance to fulfilling marketing plans to database updates go into the Everything Else column, where I'm delegating (or have a plan to delegate) these tasks to those professionals, like my VA Jean, who are great at these things and love to do them. This, in turn, enables me to free up my time to do what I do best, and share my gifts with the world.
Exercise your courage muscles today, get in touch with your brilliance, and become a hero in your own right in your business and your life. The world is waiting to experience your brilliance....
About The Author
Donna Gunter is a Self Employment Expert and Women's Business Coach. She works with overwhelmed solo business owners whose business are running them (instead of them running the business) by coaching, training, and consulting with them on 8 key strategies proven to help them work smarter and make more. Visit her website at http://www.self-employment-success.com and subscribe to her newsletter, Work Smarter Make More (and it's not just about the money!).
|
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
Find Me the Expert on This!
Many people who set up as consultants never make more than a minimal living. They get some clients who like them, but are so dependent on these few businesses that the resignation of a key contact can destroy their business for months ahead.
Venture Capital Negotiating Issues
When companies enter into negotiations with venture capital firms, there are several issues which need to be defined and agreed upon. This article describes the key issues.
Are You An Entrepreneur?
With all the buzz about everybody being an entrepreneur these days wouldn't it be nice if you could really find out if you have what it takes?
The Reluctant Entrepreneur
It seems odd to think of a person opening a shop, knowing that they're not at all interested in selling or in face-to-face interaction with customers. But that's exactly what many Internet business owners have done. And they've done it well.
The Heroic Entrepreneur: Profiting from Your Brilliance
If you look up the definition of hero in Webster's, you'll find a definition something like, 'A person noted for feats of courage or nobility of purpose, especially one who has risked or sacrificed his or her life: soldiers and nurses who were heroes in an unpopular war'. Some heroes in our lives have earned that badge of honor by doing something everyone feels is heroic as defined in the traditional sense, whether it's running into a burning building to rescue a child, pulling an injured woman from a car accident, or fighting the enemy in the time of war.
Think - Dont React
How you think, your relationship with yourself is what decides how well you communicate with your customers and relate to your team.
Do You Have What it Takes to be a Successful Entrepreneur?
Print off this page, take the quiz and find out if you've got what it takes! See the scale at the bottom to mark yourself.
If It Was Easy Everybody Would Do It
Q: I started my business about a year ago and everything is going fine. We're growing and making a profit, but the stress of running the business is really starting to get to me. I spend more time worrying than working. Sometimes the pressure is almost more than I can take. I'm starting to think that I'm not cut out to run my own business. Do you have any advice that might help me decide what to do?
-- Steven S.
Staying Ahead of the Perils, Excerpt of Entrepreneurial Motivation Speech
Running a business is not an easy endeavor, it takes courage, hard work and a strategic mindset. I feel now that I am retired looking back on it all, that it is my duty to provide to new entrepreneurs a few of the secrets of how to get things done. Every year through out our long history spanning over a quarter of a century, The Car Wash Guys Team had been careful to watch changes that affected our business. One year we are watching droughts in the North Western Hemisphere and how the water supply affects our operations. We needed the water to wash cars and our countrymen need it for farming and drinking. Water is life. We also saw heavy El Nino seasons on the Western United States, British Columbia Canada, Mexico, Central America and parts of Western South America; imagine running a car wash business when it rained almost 60 days straight and we are not talking the drizzle like in the North Eastern US each year.
Online Women Entrepreneurs Need To Pace Themselves
Saving time means pacing yourself, being organized, and always prioritizing your duties, responsibilities and efforts.
Salon Marketing Using Wireless Broadband Internet Access
Our client in Chicago did, located right outside downtown too...a right competitive area. Everbody's looking for some kind of edge and we found it for them. Want to hear...the rest of the story.
100% of Nothing
What would it be worth to you to receive a steady stream of new customers with little or no effort on your part? Would you be willing to pay 10% of the revenue they generate? 20%? 50%? Or do you believe that you can't afford to pay anything?
7 Small Business and Self Employed Law of Attraction Principles For Success
It is widely held that one of the most important ingredients in small business success is perseverance. Deciding on a strategy and sticking with it. I would agree but you need to be clear that the strategy is in alignment with your passion in business and your natural action and communication styles. It's also helpful to have effective strategies to follow through on what you set as your priorities, goals, plans, calls to action... and other components of your daily business activities. These principals will give you ideas to be effective when working on your business; so you can be persistent, passionate and productive in your small business.
From Employee to Entrepreneur: Taking the Plunge
Before you decide whether or not running your own business is right for you, start by pinpointing your area of expertise and assessing your aptitude for business.
Identify the Growth Factors
In "The Incredible Hulk", mild-mannered scientist Bruce Banner discovered that when he was exposed to "gamma rays" he was transformed into a massive beast that could ferociously muscle his way to victory in any situation. Other than being disfigured, green, and in nothing but his boxer shorts, the Hulk discovered that a single growth factor could drastically change his ability to handle his problems.
The Role of Statistics in Prospect Modeling
Identifying prospects has come a long way since the days of simple list buying. With the hype flying fast and furious, sometimes it's difficult to sort out truth from fiction and to put things in the proper perspective. Without worshipping buzzwords, however, two of the most important developments in recent years have been the rise of statistics and databases.
These have allowed companies to create more accurate profiles of their prospects, even giving rise to the term "prospect modeling" itself. Let's see how these two developments have helped shape prospect modeling.
How to Become a Successful Entrepreneur on the Web
Becoming a successful entrepreneur in the online world is no different than becoming a successful entrepreneur in the brick-and-mortar world. Both tasks require vision, determination, and hard work.
5?4?3? 2...1?
A streak dating back more than three decades came to an end at midnight on New Year's Eve. For the first time since 1972, as America rang in 2005, "America's Oldest Living Teenager" was not in Times Square to count down the dropping of the giant ball. The 75-year-old host of ABC's "New Year's Rockin' Eve" was in the hospital, recuperating from a stroke suffered a few weeks earlier.
Solving the Million Dollar Mystery: 4 Steps To Create A Turn-Key Business
You're a smart, hardworking entrepreneur, and you're moving fast. You are highly educated in your field and your business is growing and getting busier each day. But somehow, you find yourself stuck. You're doing more tasks that take you away from your core business, you are working more and earning less. You need help. Wouldn't it be great if there was someone, anyone out there who could help you take away some of the daily tasks so you could focus on the things you really love?
Beware the Opposition!
Any time you make changes in your life you are going to be met with opposition from people who would prefer you to stay exactly as you are. Sadly, these people are often the ones that love you the most; your family, friends, partners and even work colleagues. However, in your moments of entrepreneurial seizure, the greatest opposition that you will experience (particularly if you're a seasoned employee) will come from within yourself.
|