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We all have a creative spark -- the desire to be better, and to have something unique.  We think we can accomplish the impossible (dream?). Interestingly enough,  we tend to  believe those who have acquired wealth have some kind of special talents, magical thoughts, or just good luck. I think that way myself from time to time. Maybe you do too. I personally prefer positive remarks over negative(fear); it's just my taste. It took some effort for me to see past his method.

Qualities of a Successful Entrepreneur 3.0

Minimum requirements:

1. loves Challenge
2. likes Risk
3. In constant search of the Unknown
4. enjoys Helping Others
5. willing to make Sacrifice
6. sees a vision but able to act in Gradients
7. shares his Knowledge
8. listens to others but ultimately follows his Gut
9. likes People
10. not afraid to express Emotions
11. accepts criticism 

It is beneficial to listen to other people who have created success, read books about it, and ask for opinions, but in the end we all have to follow our gut -- our passion, and we must keep building on it. As cheesy as it may sound, we can all be a Gates or Jobs. We can create something meaningful. We can turn all the reasons not to to do a start-up into an exploration of our positive qualities. Why not give it a try? You can do it! I don't see anybody stopping you from starting a start-up, but you!

Please share, If you found value in this article.

 

One thing I've found hard in life has been finding that single thing which powered me in my all of my pursuits. I am referring to that passion -- that love for what we do, and the reason behind it all.  To understand it, you must find your fuel. After years of operating technology , web development shops, and working for corporations, I have found that it can all be boiled down to "creating stuff other people use". Over the span of the last 10 years I've been unconsciously creating systems, designing, servicing,  and feeling great when others enjoy my work. It is that satisfaction that makes me move forward. There are thousands of ways to make stuff others can benefit from or use. It can be anything. The key is to find what makes you feel good about making others feel good. It may take some time, but you will find your fuel. Jeff Bezos once said:

I imagined himself as an very old person, then thought about how it will feel if I didn't execute his dream (his idea), would I regret it when I have years to live.......

So, what is your FUEL? What makes you feel good? If you could do one more thing in life, what would it be? ============================= 

I often stress that when we go into new adventures and step into the unknown, as with start ups, we sometimes think the world around us will notice and will come to help magically, as though our first steps will amaze everyone around us.  It doesn't happen like that. When we have a bunch of ideas we would like to pursue, the desire for validation and assistance from others becomes even more amplified. This is especially true with entrepreneurship. There is risk involved with start ups, and it is up to the individual to get through it all. We like to have our ideas and business ventures validated, confirmed, tested, and proven by others. It provides an explainable sense of satisfaction when others tell us "That's right! What a great idea! You can do it!" The problem I see with this approach is that we wait to actually start up. 

There is really no guide to success or failure....stop looking, It doesn't exist. Instead, build your own as you go, learn it well and execute it.

In other words, think for yourself and step out of your comfort zone. During  2001-2006, while running an outsourcing information technology business for small companies, colleges, and government entities, I didn't had time to look for content on improving or taking operations to the next level. However, I did  learn something valuable, and it shapes my thoughts,  execution of ideas, and business ventures. I have found  that every time I step outside my comfort zone (routine... the usual... that safe place...), take controlled risks, and pull away feeling SAFE, I execute ideas faster and better. I recharge myself with certainty and have tons of fun. Successful entrepreneurs, big thinkers and others have mastered staying away from that safe place, challenging themselves and charging up their certainty every day. They take the idea of stepping out of your comfort zone very seriously, and experience serious benefits from it. Are you creating your own custom recipe for success? Very nice article by Owen Greaves on The Future Of Business Is Not Playing It Safe

Whether we have bad ideas, or very good ideas, we get very attached to them. We guard them as secrets in our heads. Sometimes (maybe most of the time) we fantasize about our ideas more than we actually work at materializing them (e.g prototypes, presentations, making wire-frames, collaborating with others, business, organization, group, etc). Every day, there are hundreds -- even thousands of good and bad ideas being conceived and implemented. Imagine if we could join our brains like clusters of computers and share it's output. This is what communication does. Communication at its core allows us to our share thoughts, ideas, and points of view. We can gather feedback, work together,  and exchange emotions. I personally don't like when somebody tells me "I don't like it", or asks,  "What does it do?", or "What is it for?". It is much better to hear, "Oh, I get it..", "I love it!", "When are you launching?", or "Wow, people could use something like that!". As we build and conceptualize our thoughts, we need to ask questions of more people, gather even more feedback, form lots opinions, bounce ideas more, and simplify them. Think of this as a factory with the high speed factor in place (How to Kill Your Ideas). Don't ask questions with the line of thought, "Why shouldn't it work?" . Instead, ask "Why will this work?" questions. You can read more about asking the right questions in the article called "How I brew ideas like Flash". Nobody's opinion that your idea is a bad idea matters. You have to sort through the feedback and draw your own conclusions. I won't let negative feedback bring me down. If somebody were to come to  me and tell me that I have bad ideas,  my response will be "How could it be better?"

It is easy to generate ideas. The work comes with separating the good from the bad and then executing a plan. I wrote a post a while ago named "Stop the Idea Frenzy", in which I explained how I managed to stop the impulse to gather ideas, and execute them instead. Some have asked what I do to come up with ideas so fast. Let's see... We talk to lots different people everyday.  This usually starts with the closest ones to us. This could include family, neighbors, friends, work colleagues, gas station clerk, your coffee server, etc). Now, consider how you would like to improve on something that affects your own and others' lives, then think about how you'll do it if everything you think is needed is already available. For  example, money, time, market, supporters... . Once you generate ideas, then you have 50 million people fill out a survey to answer any doubts on your solutions. Well, here's the trick: You cannot do  that type of survey for every single thing you believe could be better.

How I Generate Ideas

I ask my closest circle questions in this context:

• Imagine if we had a ______ , wouldn't that be nice?
• If you had something to do ____, how would you do it?
• What do you think would work to make this useful?

To generate ideas that are useful, you must learn to ask the right questions to reinforce (not validate) your feelings, listen with your built-in mega recorder (your brain), play back your day as much as possible, and carefully mix your thoughts to find a common thread.  When you practice this type of brainstorming,  you will strengthen your skills and learn how to generate ideas like Flash. 

We tend to depend on feedback to decide whether an idea is valid or whether it should be tossed aside.  Over time, I have learned that negative feedback is considered to be criticism. There is even a special name for it. It is called "constructive criticism", but what does that actually mean? Criticism is not constructive unless you know how to use feedback to build on your success. Gathering both positive and negative feedback is indeed an important part of forming ideas, both in business and in every day life. It should not be confused with validation. 

I've come to learn (the hard way) over the years that executing ideas is all about motion, not speed. So what do I mean by motion and  not speed? Let me explain.