Being Entrepreneural

BEING ENTREPRENEURIAL

The true explorer does his work not for any hopes of reward or honour, but because the thing be has set himself to do is a part of his being, and must be accomplished for the sake of the accomplishment.

Robert E. Peary (1856—1920)

Discoverer of the North Pole

Descriptions of entrepreneurship usually include words like commitment, responsibility, and optimism. These are entrepreneurial characteristics, but entrepreneurial spirit must come first. Spirit is much deeper. Spirit drives behaviour. People demonstrate spirit most clearly in their actions which may include:

1. Setting a Personal Challenge for oneself

2. Looking for Change

3. Applying new knowledge

4. Wanting to be more Independent

5. Wanting to turn a dream into a reality.

Dreaming and goal-setting are wonderful, but only action produces results. Of course, by taking action, you risk failure. But reflect on the motivating words of Thomas Edison who is famous for the incredible number of inventions he tried before he found ‘success’: “People are not remembered by how few times they fail, but by how often they succeed. Every wrong step is another step forward.” If you dream of an exciting, fulfilling life remember that Entrepreneurs are the few who work to make the dream happen.

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CHARACTERISTICS OF ENTREPRENEURS INCLUDE:

1. COURAGE

The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.

Franklin D. Roosevelt (1882-1945)

Fear itself is the biggest hindrance to success, and demonstrating courage means defeating emotion with rational judgment. Explorers and entrepreneurs encounter two kinds of fear: anticipatory fear (fear of failure) and material fear (fear of losing something tangible — for explorers, their lives; for entrepreneurs, their money). An entrepreneur will face the fear and have a go anyway knowing that there is a high chance that things will not work out as anticipated, or even planned!

2. FLEXIBILITY

If your vision is truly innovative, others will have trouble understanding it. Ralph Waldo Emerson asked, “But is it so bad then to be misunderstood? Pythagoras was misunderstood, and Socrates… and Copernicus, and Galilieo, and Newton, and every pure and wise spirit that ever took flesh. To be great is to be misunderstood.” “Strive to be a reed not an oak”.

Flexibility does not mean losing your ideals, your morals or your capacity to get things done. Rather, flexibility means being able to see a situation from multiple perspectives and then being able to choose the perspective which provides the greatest chance of success without sacrificing your own integrity. Often entrepreneurs are incredibly enthusiastic people who will carry others along with them. One of the keys to their success is their capacity to adapt to almost any situation and to be able to see an ‘upside to it. They can also generally maintain a sense of humour throughout.

Flexibility in the face of unexpected and unwanted change enables explorers to complete a successful journey. There are basically two kinds of flexibility: planned and reactive. As teachers we need to be able to plan for multiple contingencies in our classrooms, and then still maintain the capacity to take advantage of the ‘teachable moments’ that arise each day.

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3. BELIEF

We don’t see things as they are, we see them as we are.

Anaïs Nin (1903-1977)

Entrepreneurs are marked by an intense degree of self-confidence- they believe they can get things done- and usually do! Curiously however, many do not have a constant high sense of self esteem and many are also often quite shy. However they have a curious ability to maintain belief in themselves and their ideas, even when their visions seem preposterous to the rest of the world. Your vision of yourself is important because the self-image you construct creates a self-fulfilling prophecy.

Unwavering belief in their ideas and the ability to realise their dreams are characteristics shared by modern-day entrepreneurs and master explorers alike.

Everyone can use a boost in self-confidence. The following three-step process can help you strengthen your belief.

Unravel the source of your disbelief. Your attitudes about yourself were formed in your earlier years. What did you believe about yourself then?

Analyse and dispel your disbeliefs. Disbelief is just a combination of all the comments, criticisms, and experiences you identified above. Turn each belief statement about yourself into a ‘strength statement’

Eg. Belief — I didn’t ‘fit in’ when I was a child.

Strength Statement — I have five long term friends who are incredibly loyal and supportive toward me — and I them.

Recognise the power of your ideas. Too often we look to others to approve our ideas.

Think of an idea you have had in the past that was pooh-poohed by someone else. What was your response?

Think of an idea you have had recently that you failed to act on. Why did you fail to act?

If you didn’t have to consider anyone — what is something you’d really like to do? Who is really stopping you??????

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4. DECISIVENESS

You must be prepared to make quick, clear, definitive choices. Entrepreneurs don’t worry about potential problems down the road. They are anxious to get started, so they just ‘get in their cars and drive’

Identifying all the possible options in a situation and giving rational, deliberate thought to each is a good decision-making process as long as it does not get in the way of you taking some action which may help you move along.

Whichever option you choose will be the right one if you make it right. Decisiveness is a function of your ability to choose an option quickly and then devote yourself to effecting the results you want from it.

5. TAKE ACTION

Follow the “Time limit Rule.” Cut down on time spent deliberating over a problem. Allow an item requiring a decision to rest on your desk for a maximum of one day and determine to make a decision at the end of the day. With a particularly distressing issue- give yourself a time limit to be upset, and then resolve that at that time, you will make a decision. It’s amazing how what seem to be major issues somehow reduce in stature when we take control of our responses — rather than letting a situation dictate to us.

Use metaphors to help put your decisions in perspective. By placing your problems within a metaphorical context, you can create new ways of looking at your challenges.

Know what your priorities are. List them if necessary.

Select an option and commit yourself wholeheartedly to it. Again, give yourself time to do the best you can. Assess the outcomes. If you’re not happy — have another go using a different option.

Don’t ‘what if’ yourself. Don’t defeat yourself before you start. Resolve to obliterate the phrase ‘what if’ from your vocabulary. Replace it with ‘I want what will happen ….

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Selecting an option isn’t the same as making a decision. Selecting an option means discarding the other alternatives, but you haven’t made a decision until you take a positive action toward making your option the right one.

A decision is like a fork in the road;

it forces you to take responsibility for the

direction of your journey.

Too many people wait for their lives to change rather than make changes in their lives. Inactive people often feel that the present moment isn’t the right time to take action. For one reason or another, they believe that some point in the future will be a better time to implement their plans. But the fact is, it’s never the right time. Successful entrepreneurs launch their boats quickly, learn on the journey, and deal with problems as they arise.

The mind turns thoughts into ideas,

and action turns ideas into reality.

6. IMAGINATION

Only in men’s imagination does every truth find an effective and undeniable existence. Imagination…is the supreme master of art as of life. Joseph Conrad (1857-1924)

Don’t be afraid to imagine. Listen to what your imagination is suggesting to you. Is there anything you are missing?

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7. APPLY YOUR LEARNING

Learning is at the foundation of all successful enterprises. The world’s greatest explorers were educated individuals who made learning a lifetime endeavour, never ceasing to pursue knowledge. You, too, must dedicate yourself to a lifetime of learning, both before and during each expedition, to journey successfully through the jungle of entrepreneurship.

Learning and achieving are infinitely intertwined.

The more you learn, the more you achieve,

and the more you achieve, the more you learn.

In preparing for your journey remember:

1. Equipping yourself well doesn’t mean packing as much gear as possible—it means packing the right gear.

2. As a general rule, bring enough supplies for a journey that may take two or three times as long as you originally expect it to

3. Remember that In the long run men hit only what they aim at. Henry David Thoreau (18171862) So aim high and long. Remember “Aim for the moon, if you miss you’ll hit a star!”

4. To be successful on your journey, you must continue to think bigger and bigger with each step, establishing new goals when you reach each plateau. A journey begins with a single step- but you need to keep walking!

To turn potential problems into windows of opportunity.

1. Focus your problem so you can describe it in ten words or fewer.

2. Establish the two obvious solutions—usually do-or-die options. These are the ends of the option spectrum. These should be easy to come up with.

3. Create at least four options between the two ends of the spectrum. Be resourceful and persevere; there are always more options than those at either end. Chances are, one of these options will work well for you.

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8. BE SUCCESSFUL

Keep your eyes and ears open. Pay attention to customer interests, and let them determine the course of your expedition. Lao-tzu, a founder of Taoism, said, “To lead people, walk behind them.” And the trick is leading people where they want to go.

The Japanese have a word that describes the idea of continual improvement: kaizen. The basic premise of kaizen is that everything can be improved—no part of an operation ever reaches a state of perfection.

Celebrate Small Victories. Samuel Taylor Coleridge, the nineteenth-century English poet, understood this insight. He wrote, “The happiness of life is made up of minute fractions—the little soon forgotten charities of a kiss or smile, a kind look, a heartfelt compliment, and the countless infinitesimals of pleasurable and genial feelings.

Learn to Find Pleasure in the Defects

To be an entrepreneur is about taking risks. Risks that are not foolhardy, but are calculated and planned to take you in a particular direction, and at the same time enable you to retain the flexibility to change your plans and even re-route your maps if need be. But the motto of most entrepreneurs is ‘just do it’. We all make mistakes- why not enjoy them and see them as opportunities to learn and grow.

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Conclusion

At the heart of this book is our shared humanity and our shared commitment to a more humane, loving, holistic, communal and empowering educational process for everyone.

Schools are the frontiers of social and cultural change, and everyone of us impacts in powerful ways on this process — in our behaviour, our interactions, our conversations, our very ‘beingness’. It is hoped that this book has helped to remind you of how special you are and how potent you can be. It is said that conversation is the music we make when we commune. We invite you to reach out, connect and converse about your experiences reading this book, with others, — to strengthen and foster your own resilience and to help create resilient educators everywhere.

The connection among souls is what education is about.

It is out of connection that both compassion and passion grows.

Connect and let your love shine through.

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