Tag Archives: mastery

The Fulfilled Entrepreneur

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Here’s a question for entrepreneurs that can be a rather perplexing conundrum. What is the value that we are adding to what we do every day? Could a trained monkey do it too . . . and maybe even better? Here’s the thing. We sometimes tend to fall into a rut that’s usually within our comfort zone. And then we go through motions every day – over and over and over. Oftentimes we become very, very good at what we do and so it is easy to keep doing it – over and over and over. But is it a truly fulfilling experience?

My father-in-law was a funeral director. He was very, very good at what he did, and it was evident that he liked helping people. But he always said that when he turned 65, he was done and would retire. And that’s exactly what he did. I concluded that while he liked what he did, he didn’t love it enough to never want to stop doing it. I never did get a chance to ask him before he died what value he brought to what he did every day.

Entrepreneurs think a lot about money. Yet, those I’ve known who do what they do just to make a lot of money tend to become restless and bored. Making a lot of money may be great, but after a while it’s just a way to keep score. And if we’re winning every day and only doing it for the money, how does one keep the “fire in the belly?” There must be something more.

There’s no denying that we entrepreneurs want to make money. And there’s nothing wrong with this – after all, most of us are unabashed capitalists. But just focusing on the money can lead to a hollow existence. Money is a commodity and eventually we find ourselves feeling like the proverbial trained monkey. That’s when the trouble can begin. Being restless and bored can lead to many issues the least of which might be extramarital affairs, drug or alcohol abuse or even daredevil types of hobbies. I’m not casting aspersion on thrill-seeking activities, but we must examine the real reason that we pursue them. Is it because we are feeling unfulfilled in our business and/or personal lives?

All this pondering leads us to conclude that we need to be doing something of substance to feel fulfilled. I’ve written before about value propositions where customers are concerned. But we also need a personal value proposition that winds us up and keeps us excited, happy and content. My value proposition is the same as my personal WHY (thank you Simon Sinek) which is to make sense of complexity. This manifests itself in many ways including consistently developing creative ideas and solutions. If a day goes by where I wasn’t challenged creatively or didn’t become immersed in something complicated, I don’t feel fulfilled. Thus, I try and always put myself in situations where this never happens.

Each of us needs to find our own personal value proposition. Perhaps it’s doing things the right way every single time. Maybe it’s about innovation and doing things in a better way. Some of us want to make a contribution or a difference in the lives of others. There are those of us who want to create trust and build relationships, while others just want to simplify things. A few entrepreneurs live to master what they do, and others want to create clarity. Of course, there are always a few Steve Jobs types who want to challenge the status quo and think differently.

Discovering our own personal value proposition energizes us and keeps us coming back for more. Being a great entrepreneur hinges on our ability to continually maintain a sense of fulfillment.

This blog is being written in tandem with my book, “An Entrepreneur’s Words to Live By,” available on Amazon.com in paperback and Kindle (My Book), as well as being available in all of the other major eBook formats.

The Supremely Confident Entrepreneur

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There is at least one must-have trait for successful entrepreneurs. Without confidence the road is very steep and rocky. College basketball is one of the most interesting demonstrations of how confidence or a lack thereof can impact outcomes. I’ve watched many games where the players on a team are tentative. They lack energy and they are missing their shots. Often, they are out of position and cannot rebound or chase down loose balls. A few days later the same team plays another game. This time there is fluidity in their motion. They are passing the ball crisply; players are getting nice elevation when they shoot, and the ball is going in the hole. The night-and-day difference between the two contests is that of confidence.

What is the secret to gaining and maintaining confidence? There are several elements that are required. The first is that of “mastery.” Mastery is achieved through constant practice and the repetitive patterning that occurs as our experience builds. This is particularly important for millennials to understand. Fair or not, many millennials are tagged with the stereotype that they have an incredibly high sense of urgency. They don’t want to wait for results and can be impatient at times. However, I’ve seen millennials and people of all ages try something a couple of times and believe they have mastered it. Then I watch as they try it again and bomb badly. With confidence shaken they are humbled and may become afraid to jump in the water again. All of this could have been avoided had real mastery been achieved. One of the biggest fears in society today is that of public speaking. And the only way to resolve this fear once and for all, is to practice speaking over and over and over. The fear doesn’t suddenly evaporate after a handful of gigs. It took me 50 or 60 times to reach the point that I began to feel comfortable in front of a group.  

The second element is that of achieving a history of desired outcomes. It’s one thing to repeat a process enough times to master something. That helps to build confidence. But achieving the results we want is the validation necessary for us to know that we’re on the right track with our mastery. Let’s use our basketball example again. A team may be executing the basics and fundamentals properly; it may be playing strong defense, and the players are running the plays as designed. But if the scoreboard isn’t showing a W for the team on a regular basis, it’s hard to build confidence. I’ve never heard anyone profess that losing all the time builds confidence . . . but winning does. As entrepreneurs we must tweak our approach until we begin to win consistently. For example, if our sales approach isn’t working and we keep doing it the same way, it’s time to start experimenting to learn what it takes to win. After all, there’s no point in “mastering” losing!

The third aspect of building confidence is to always maintain a positive attitude – no matter what. We must believe that eventually we’ll get it right; eventually we will win. I’ve said many times that what we think in mind produces in the outer after its kind. When we believe at our core that we are going to win, eventually we will win. If we have doubts or know in our bones that we’re going to lose, eventually we will lose. I have never seen anyone become more self-confident by having a negative attitude. Attitude is critical to the success of individuals and to the team. If one member of the team is positive and the rest are negative, the confidence of the team will be adversely affected. As entrepreneurial leaders it is incumbent upon us to make sure that our team is unanimous with a positive attitude.  

Developing mastery, achieving success and being eternally optimistic are the rocket fuel that will propel us to a perpetual state of self-confidence. This patterning also inoculates us from having our self-confidence shaken when from time-to-time we might stumble. We’ve been there before. We know what we must do, and we are able to re-calibrate and get back on track with ease and grace. There is no panic or desperation – we simply remember to follow the formula that has worked so well in the past.

Building self-confidence is a process much like riding a bicycle. Once learned, we may fall off on rare occasions; but when we do we get up, dust ourselves off and start riding the bike again like it never happened.

This blog is being written in tandem with my book, “An Entrepreneur’s Words to Live By,” available on Amazon.com in paperback and Kindle (My Book), as well as being available in all of the other major eBook formats.

The Stardust Entrepreneur

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Our seven-year-old granddaughter claims she has a twin sister named Stardust . . . except that Stardust is older than our granddaughter. Stardust supposedly lives in the attic of our granddaughter’s home . . . even though there is no attic. Stardust is apparently homeschooled though our daughter says she’s never shown up for class. What’s most amazing is how I can ask a multitude of questions about Stardust and my granddaughter always has an answer for every one – instantly. The creative mind of this little girl is truly incredible, hilarious, and heartwarming.

There’s an entrepreneurial lesson here beyond the sharing of a proud grandpa story. How many of us have been able to preserve and expand upon the child’s imagination that many of us enjoyed when we were seven? How many of us have settled for the “reality” of life as we have become consumed with adulthood? Are we listening to the whispers that tell us to stay in our lane and color within the lines?

Imagination is inspiring. And inspiration propels us to elevate our game and do great things. Over the years, I’ve heard many entrepreneurs lament that they just aren’t creative. And I acknowledge that much of creativity is innate. But not all of it. Every entrepreneur can learn to be more creative, but it takes effort, intentionality, and practice. From time to time, I used a technique to test the creativity of a prospective team member during an interview – often for a sales position. After talking for a while and helping the prospect become comfortable, I tossed him or her a paper clip and asked the prospect to sell it to me. Often, the prospect would make a valiant effort to sell me on the “reality” of the paper clip. The virtues of the shape, strength, color, and utility would be extolled. It was an exciting moment when someone saw something other than a paper clip. I was asked need determination questions and to share my pain points. And then amazingly, the paper clip was transformed into something that removed that pain. The paper clip as a prop was re-imagined into a solution.

The whole point is that a few people were able to look at the paper clip differently. And that’s the moral of this story. We can improve our creative spirit by learning to look at something differently. Maybe it’s a system or process. Perhaps it’s a product or even a market. The process of looking at something differently can be enhanced by bringing others into a brainstorming session who are innately creative. A great entrepreneur will constantly challenge himself/herself to look differently at as many things as possible.

The sustainability of an organization must go beyond mastery. That is, we can develop the gold standard for a product or service and excel for an extended period of time. But if that’s all we do, our organization will eventually die. Why? Because someone else will come along and see the paper clip differently. They will improve upon it or change it completely and eventually our loyal customers will value that difference more highly and leave.

Seeing things differently and acting accordingly can be scary and chaotic. Change can ruffle many feathers and there’s no doubt that an organization that “flits” from one idea to the next can be at risk. But there’s no question that some level of mastery is needed – otherwise continual change can cause whiplash! Finding the right balance between creative explosion and basic inertia is obviously critical. We’ve been fine tuning this balance in our family of companies for more than 50 years. The good news is that our team has embraced both aspects of looking at things differently and successfully mastering the changes that are made.  

It’s my hope that Stardust will visit you someday soon and help you realize your unlimited potential that comes through your power of imagination.  

This blog is being written in tandem with my book, “An Entrepreneur’s Words to Live By,” available on Amazon.com in paperback and Kindle (My Book), as well as being available in all of the other major eBook formats.