How to Make Yourself a Better Entrepreneur

New Year’s Resolution – How to Make Yourself a Better Entrepreneur

January 4, 2012

When the New Year arrives, everyone thinks about what they want to do in the upcoming year. Some people write a New Year’s resolutions list, others just put some thought into what their goals are to be for the year. Entreprenuers always have a list because they tend to be goal-oriented people.

Here’s a useful technique for becoming what you want to be. I have to admit that it’s not original. I wrote it down some time ago and I have no idea where it is from.

“Acknowledge yourself for the characteristics that reflect you to a high degree. Then choose a few characteristics that aren’t part of your personality or daily habit, and ACT AS IF you already embody these qualities. Acting AS IF breaks down subconscious resistance and helps you assimilate new ideas and traits more easily.”

I see many aspiring entrepreneurs. Oftentimes, they feel the need to know all the answers before they act on their ideas. Or they feel that everything has to be in place, as expected or planned, before they will get going with their start-up. Sometimes I think we need to grow back down and be kids again, because ‘not knowing’ would never stop a child. For them, just inching one step closer to their goal is good enough.

A preschooler will see a television commercial and ask for the toy on the commercial. Mom says, ”No, you have enough toys”. Next, the child will ask Dad and if he says “No” too, then ask Grandma. A child will ask anyone. A child will even ask a stranger to convince Mom of the worthiness of the toy. Once that avenue is exhausted, the next words spoken by the preschooler, “Can we go to the toy store?” Mom says, “No, but I’m going to the supermarket, do you want to come with me?” And the preschooler responds, “Yes”. When they pull into the parking lot, the preschooler will say, “Look, there’s the toy store right next door to the supermarket. Can we go and just look?” Every parent knows where this is going. Once in the store, the preschooler looks for that toy, and will ask to take it home. My husband always falls for this strategy, my youngest always get her toy. Kids are fixated on the goal, the method of achieving it doesn’t much matter. It’s great if they achieve their goal in one big leap, i.e. Mom said “yes” immediately, but just moving closer to the goal works too. There are times when entrepreneurs need to think more like kids – how would a preschooler solve your problem?

We all need to be inspired from time to time. The New Year is the perfect time to do this.

Everyone needs to believe that the best is still yet to come.