5 minute read
Entrepreneurial Passion: A Slowly Smoldering Fire?
By Malte Krohn PhD Student in Innovation, Hamburg University of Technology Faculty Innovation Fellows Candidate
Without a doubt, entrepreneurial passion can truly move mountains and we will need a lot of it to solve our many societal challenges. And don’t get me wrong! I believe that this world needs change makers more than ever. I recently looked at the photo of a Friday’s for Future demo and a young activists sign said:
Surely, this is one of the more pressing issues and you might want to have a look at the UN’s 17 Sustainable Development Goals to find some more “inspiration.” Personally, I am more than skeptical that the corporations, which in many cases got us into this mess, will manage to get us out of it…. Our society always relied on creative destroyers. On entrepreneurs who blend creativity and resources with grit to tackle pressing issues and eagerly direct ubiquitous change into more desirable directions. Yet, as with many things in life, there is a catch, a dark side. Do we really ignite our protégés or do we set them on a secretly smoldering fire? In this article, I want to take you on a journey to the dark side of entrepreneurial passion and how we can kindly meet it with mindfulness and compassion. Are you with me?
THE DOUBLE EDGED SWORD OF ENTREPRENEURIAL PASSION
Since our society needs passionate and dedicated change makers, university ecosystems are trusted with an important task. As teachers, trainers, mentors and ecosystem builders, we need to ignite the spark of students’ entrepreneurial mindset. We have to hone their willingness as well as ability to see challenges as opportunities and own them with curiosity, creativity and confidence. However, there is something I would like to have an honest discussion about. In a recent conversation with my friend Rogelio Arellano, who is an entrepreneur and two times Forbes 30 under 30 alum himself, he suggested that starting up is rather a marathon than a sprint1. Quite a tiring one for that matter. Something that many aspiring entrepreneurs underestimate or don’t think about at all. So did Rogelio, by the way. He ended up suffering from sleep deprivation, bad eating habits and missing his brother’s wedding. Unfortunately, Rogelio is not the only entrepreneur with such an experience.
Indeed, there is a dark side of entrepreneurial passion and too much of it can even result in entrepreneurial burnout2. Recent research also suggests that entrepreneurs are frequently challenged with various mental health issues. Michael A. Freeman of the University of California San Francisco and several colleagues from Stanford, Berkeley and Columbia University conducted a study among 242 entrepreneurs and 93 comparison participants in the U.S.
The study finds that during their lifetime3: • Twice as many entrepreneurs report having depression • Six times as many entrepreneurs report Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) • Three times as many entrepreneurs report substance abuse • Eleven times as many entrepreneurs report bipolar disorder
Furthermore, 49% of entrepreneurs in the study report having a mental health condition during their lives, so far, 32% report having two or more mental health conditions and 18% report having three or more mental health conditions. The study makes no judgment about possible causalities, but the results indicate that personal predispositions of entrepreneurs, stress, anxiety, isolation and specific entrepreneurial challenges might take a big mental toll. It must be said that a single study doesn’t show the complete picture, and research on entrepreneurial well-being is rather in its infancy. Being an entrepreneur has many upsides, too. However, the study shows that the matter needs to be taken very seriously!
Sorry if I put you down with these rather daunting figures, but there is also very promising news. Another stream of research and practice is emerging and I believe it is just what we needed!
INHALE THE PRESENT. EXHALE THE FUTURE.
Sure, entrepreneurs have to plan for and envision the future and they are bound to strive towards their goals. Nevertheless, whatever impact they want to make on the future, they have to act from the present moment. You might have guessed it already. This is where mindfulness and compassion come into play.
There is now a lot of scientific evidence that mindfulness and compassion, which can be trained and cultivated by practicing meditation, have tremendous positive effects on human functioning in workplace settings4 and emerging evidence for entrepreneurial settings5 . Mindfulness can be thought of as a non-judgmental orientation to present moment experiences and events. It sounds very simple, but takes a lot of dedicated practice to be sustained in challenging situations. Yet, exactly that ability is required to avoid getting lost in constant worrying or mind wandering, which often results in detrimental effects on mental health! Hence, cultivating self-awareness, the ability of skillfully refocusing one’s attention and combining it with the wholehearted qualities of compassion bears huge potential to navigate the entrepreneurial journey more self-sustainably.
Driven by over two decades of personal practice in Eastern martial arts, Yoga and meditation, I set out to shed light on this powerful synergy of Entrepreneurial Mindfulness. I took part in an 8-week Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction training, talked to experts from all over the world and reviewed scientific work from business, psychology, neuroscience and meditation studies. Currently, I am in the process of synthesizing these insights in my upcoming book “The Mindful Startup.” I believe that a first step of advocating a more mindful and compassionate approach to driving change is creating more awareness of the challenges discussed in this article. I hope that my book will enable many more to join the conversation and empower change makers to take their whole selves on the entrepreneurial journey.
However, cultivating mindfulness and compassion requires dedicated practice and support from skilled mentors. I hope that in the future, university ecosystems will not only empower young students to drive change, but teach them to get aware of and appreciate their individual capacity of doing so. In my version of the future, we will train change makers to develop entrepreneurial survival skills, such as self-awareness, emotional intelligence and taking self-responsibility just as we ignite their entrepreneurial mindset. So they can tame their inner fire before it sets them on fire.
A NEW JOURNEY
I hope that this brief journey to the dark side of entrepreneurial passion is only the beginning of a more nurturing journey towards Entrepreneurial Mindfulness. Change makers often pay a high price with regards to their emotional, physical and social well-being. Research and practice shows that a more mindful and compassionate approach to entrepreneurship is a promising avenue to balance this pressing issue. Yet, we need much more of it! I call for all trainers, teachers, coaches and ecosystem builders to advocate a more mindful and compassionate approach to entrepreneurial education and training! Let’s meet passion with compassion, striving for a better future while staying mindful of our present moment and make Entrepreneurial Mindfulness a thing!
