Do You Have What It Takes To Become An Entrepreneur
Do You Have What It Takes To Become An Entrepreneur
From my test score, it appears I am probably better adapted to washing dishes than running a business. Then again, according to the governing laws of aerodynamics, Bumble Bees can't fly either.
Let me tell you a TRUE STORY about those tests. -- You've seen them. They usually have a headline like ...
Do You Have What It Takes To Become An Entrepreneur?
Back in 1977, an old millionaire friend of mine ... in his late 70s ... sent me a 20-question test with a personal note asking me to answer the questions and return them to him. -- He said he was conducting an experiment and wanted honest answers ... no fudging allowed ... to all of the questions. So, I answered the questions and returned them to him.
A couple months later, the old millionaire sent me a letter detailing his experiment and reporting the results.
The "test" he had sent to me had been published in a big-name, prestigious business magazine, with a self-scoring answer-sheet at the end of the article. -- It was the "work" of a world-renowned psychologist.
After he had taken the "test" in the magazine, my old friend was disappointed to learn that he didn't have what it took to be an entrepreneur. -- As a matter of fact ... even though he had been a real entrepreneur all his life with millions of real dollars in the bank to prove it ... his "test" results indicated that he should have been a 40-hour-per-week wage-slave and put all his money in safe and secure bank deposit accounts.
Having failed the "test" ... miserably ... he decided to send a copy of the "test" to 35 real entrepreneurs he knew, just to see if he was some kind of psychological freak. -- Maybe he was just a Bumble Bee, flying with the F-14 fighters.
All 35 of the real entrepreneurs ... including me ... who received the "test" from him were self-made millionaires ... no inheritors or lottery winners. Their educational backgrounds ranged from elementary school dropouts to a few with doctorates ... ranging in age from their mid-20s to late-80s.
Guess what? -- According to the "test" ... not one of us had what it took to be an entrepreneur. We all failed the "test."
The old millionaire sent the fully-documented results of his experiment to the world-renowned psychologist who had created the "test." To which the learned psychologist responded, "The traits indicated in the test are necessary to becoming an entrepreneur but they are not required to be an entrepreneur."
In other words ...
If you pass the "test," you have what it takes to become an entrepreneur - but - you can't be one.
So ... why did I tell that story?
Well, I'll tell ya. -- After taking and flunking a number of those tests, I, myself, got to wondering ...
What Does It Really Take To Be An Entrepreneur?
Since I couldn't find an answer in my own experience, I started asking each and every successful entrepreneur I met, "What motivated you to start and succeed in your own business?"
As you can imagine, the answers I received ranged from the ridiculous to the sublime ... from mystical hocus-pocus to ultra-logical reasoning ... from irrational psycho-babble to textbook business plans.
Then, a few years ago, a young millionaire ... in his early 30s ... solved the riddle for me. He looked me straight in the eyes and said ...
"I don't really know. One day, I decided to do it and just did it!"
So ... all it takes to be an entrepreneur is a decision to be one. -- Once the decision is made, you will do it!
The decision is yours and yours alone!
---
Do You Have What It Takes To Become An Entrepreneur - To learn more about this author, visit Jim Straw's Website.
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Believe it or don't, I just flunked another test for "entrepreneurial" traits!
From my test score, it appears I am probably better adapted to washing dishes than running a business. Then again, according to the governing laws of aerodynamics, Bumble Bees can't fly either.
Let me tell you a TRUE STORY about those tests. -- You've seen them. They usually have a headline like ...
Do You Have What It Takes To Become An Entrepreneur?
Back in 1977, an old millionaire friend of mine ... in his late 70s ... sent me a 20-question test with a personal note asking me to answer the questions and return them to him. -- He said he was conducting an experiment and wanted honest answers ... no fudging allowed ... to all of the questions. So, I answered the questions and returned them to him.
A couple months later, the old millionaire sent me a letter detailing his experiment and reporting the results.
The "test" he had sent to me had been published in a big-name, prestigious business magazine, with a self-scoring answer-sheet at the end of the article. -- It was the "work" of a world-renowned psychologist.
After he had taken the "test" in the magazine, my old friend was disappointed to learn that he didn't have what it took to be an entrepreneur. -- As a matter of fact ... even though he had been a real entrepreneur all his life with millions of real dollars in the bank to prove it ... his "test" results indicated that he should have been a 40-hour-per-week wage-slave and put all his money in safe and secure bank deposit accounts.
Having failed the "test" ... miserably ... he decided to send a copy of the "test" to 35 real entrepreneurs he knew, just to see if he was some kind of psychological freak. -- Maybe he was just a Bumble Bee, flying with the F-14 fighters.
All 35 of the real entrepreneurs ... including me ... who received the "test" from him were self-made millionaires ... no inheritors or lottery winners. Their educational backgrounds ranged from elementary school dropouts to a few with doctorates ... ranging in age from their mid-20s to late-80s.
Guess what? -- According to the "test" ... not one of us had what it took to be an entrepreneur. We all failed the "test."
The old millionaire sent the fully-documented results of his experiment to the world-renowned psychologist who had created the "test." To which the learned psychologist responded, "The traits indicated in the test are necessary to becoming an entrepreneur but they are not required to be an entrepreneur."
In other words ...
If you pass the "test," you have what it takes to become an entrepreneur - but - you can't be one.
So ... why did I tell that story?
Well, I'll tell ya. -- After taking and flunking a number of those tests, I, myself, got to wondering ...
What Does It Really Take To Be An Entrepreneur?
Since I couldn't find an answer in my own experience, I started asking each and every successful entrepreneur I met, "What motivated you to start and succeed in your own business?"
As you can imagine, the answers I received ranged from the ridiculous to the sublime ... from mystical hocus-pocus to ultra-logical reasoning ... from irrational psycho-babble to textbook business plans.
Then, a few years ago, a young millionaire ... in his early 30s ... solved the riddle for me. He looked me straight in the eyes and said ...
"I don't really know. One day, I decided to do it and just did it!"
So ... all it takes to be an entrepreneur is a decision to be one. -- Once the decision is made, you will do it!
The decision is yours and yours alone!
---
Do You Have What It Takes To Become An Entrepreneur - To learn more about this author, visit Jim Straw's Website.
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Cheryl MatthynssensCheryl is a life skills coach, licensed Chemical Dependency Counselor and a 20 year entrepreneur. Cheryl's dedication to achieving a life of balance led to her expanding her teaching from the simple managing of life's daily challenges to adding financial well being as well. A direct marketer with DrinkACT, she is gaining ground in the online community with her concepts of making sure business owners, entreprenuers and employees have well rounded life styles. She opened up a small affiliate site - The Balance Guide- to help others find resources for mental and emotional well being. Visit Cheryl's blog to see more of the diversity beyond business she has began offering online at www.thebalanceguide.blogspot.com - Visit Cheryl Matthynssens's Website |
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Stephanie RobeyStephanie Robey is President and CoFounder of Pivot Positive, LLC - an Internet marketing business focused on helping people start work at home ventures. Previously, she was employed at The Search Agency with over 20 years experience in graphic design and 10 years experience in online marketing. She was responsible for launching the Conversion Path Optimization (CPO) unit where she and her team have conducted hundreds of optimization tests for online companies across multiple verticals. She is a successful entrepreneur having started and sold 2 companies and remains on the board of directors of the third, PhotoSpin.com Stephanie began her career in the direct marketing realm creating and producing direct mail for many of the major cable television companies and directly attributes her understanding of Internet marketing to those early offline experiences. Stephanie is a graduate of San Diego State University with a BFA in Graphic Arts and also holds an Executive MBA from the Graziadio School of Business and Management at Pepperdine University. Read Steph's Blog Meet Steph and Dave Sign up for our Free 7-Day BootCamp: Self Employed & Rich - Visit Stephanie Robey's Website |
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Jay Kubassek(Jay's Full Bio: EvanCarmichael.com/jaykubassek) In five years, Canadian-born entrepreneur Jay Kubassek went from selling mufflers at a Midas franchise to revolutionizing Internet marketing with the 2004 launch of CarbonCopyPRO, a online marketing education company, now worth over $20 million with customers in over 160 countries.
As an independent film producer, his upstart film fund Aliquot Films is currently producing a films with Spike Lee and Abel Fererra (starring Ethan Hawke and Dennis Hopper.)
Jay's entrepreneurial spirit is irrepressible. He’s the owner of five companies, a professional speaker and trainer, international real estate developer/investor, extreme sport enthusiast and emerging philanthropist. Jay resides in NYC with his wife Jamie, son Milo and dog Cooper. Visit Jay's official website: www.JayKubassek.com - Visit Jay Kubassek's Website |
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