I’ve been getting asked by a number of
people who are looking to be entrepreneurs regarding the entrepreneurial
journey. I love the fact that the first thing all of them seem to ask is “What
are the challenges like” or “How tough is it?” as opposed to “How fun/cool is
it?”
So it all got me thinking of my journey, so
much so that I went to my journal to reflect on all the dormant but forgotten
emotions & experiences I went through in the past 2 years and what I found
was rather interesting. You have to understand that I went from being a
student, finishing with an Economic Science major that I didn’t care about, so
much so that I didn’t even bother with the graduation ceremony. I guess
something greater was repelling it all and leading me to other unexplored
shores. So I decided to write a post that speaks about things I’ve learnt and
someone will learn as they make a huge transition from playing it safe to
taking the risks required to an internally directed & successful life. What
people must understand is that being an entrepreneur is just a word we use for
a person who just has a vision inside of him/her to create/do something for
other people that ends up making money ( some French dude coined the word in
the 1800s). The same principles I’m about to mention apply to any path of high
resistance that a person undertakes, almost like the decision to lose weight,
move cities, change jobs etc. This is just me sharing experiences that I went
through in my life that should by no means be duplicated, instead take what I
went through and somehow transform it so that it matters to you...
Disclaimer:
Extremely low amounts of bullshit are found in this article. Not for sensitive
readers, if you’re sensitive & love bullshit then stop reading!!
*Your honour I swear to tell the truth, the
whole truth and nothing but the truth, so help me God* hahaha!
1. Your
Primary Aim/Outcome/vision.
“A victorious person wins & then goes
to war; a defeated person goes to war and then hopes to win.” – Sun Tzu
Regardless of what any person decides to do
in life, the most important thing of all is the primary aim/outcome/vision. You
have to have a clear picture of the destination before you embark on a journey,
otherwise how will you know what needs to be done? More importantly you have to
have the end goal in mind but must also know the signs or feelings that signal
your proximity to the end goal otherwise you’re really just wasting your time
taking risks that lead nowhere. So ask yourself, what do I really want? What
kind of life do I want? And if the destination has been found, set course and
be on your way Swimple! [Simple + swift = Swimple]
2. All the
quotes by people in history regarding “Success” are true.
I’ve come to understand this major point in
a very sobering way. I came to realize that people who have the time and
conviction to write about achieving success are simply sharing something they
are living and helped them achieve it. Nobody just writes something for no
reason because people write things down that matter to them, so if that
something ends up being a popular quote then best believe it’s true. How many
picture quotes or quotes do you just retweet/share as opposed to absorbing or
applying? People love the feelings they derive by these quotes & the
“likes” they’ll receive by sharing and never apply them, I think it makes them
feel/seem smart but anyway Trust me, they are TRUE!!
3.
Innovation
Understand that there’s a difference
between being a business person and being an entrepreneur. A business person
finds something to sell and acts as a transactor or middle man between two
people. An entrepreneur [creates] something new and useful for the people that
is derived from a need or gap he/she saw. Innovation has unlimited forms and
can come from anywhere, but it is a prerequisite for being an entrepreneur.
Build/create something with love for the people that solves a problem or improves
their lives. I was once told by an exceptional girl while we were walking in
the mall that stores simply don’t give people an experience anymore and that’s
what she wants to do. Those words changed my life that day although I doubt she
realizes it. Don’t imitate, Innovate!
4. Passion
> Money
Passion is the single greatest force that
i’ve come to understand and embrace. Never do something with money as your
primary goal because there’ll be many days in your journey that will look like
you’re never gonna make money and that’s where passion is needed to get you
through. Passion is a force multiplied and even though money is a great
motivator, it sadly isn’t a propulsion force; so chase the dream and let the
money chase you. It’s all about persistence and grit. Passion will help you
hold on because that’s what it comes down to. You can’t do anything great
without passion.
5. It’s all
about trying!
They say that making the decision to try
takes you 50% of the way there. Now that we know that all these things “they”
say are true, I think we’re done here.
6. Fear Vs
Danger
I watched a lame movie with Will Smith and
his son in it, forgot what it was called, but I found the underlying fight
against fear to be rather intriguing. There was a part that where he explains
the difference between fear and danger; he said that danger is very real
whereas fear is all in the mind. When you see a tiger you run because it is a
dangerous animal; but failure, debt & ridicule are all fears that are in
the mind. If you understand quantum physics and maybe embrace the multiverse
theory then you’ll know that something like failure is only [ONE] outcome of an
infinite amount of possibilities and your mind chooses to focus on it but you
have to overcome it. I’ll go as far as saying: “If it can’t kill you then that
feeling you have is bullshit!”
7. Temporary
Sacrifices
They say: “When you gain a vision for your
life, you lose your friends.” The thing you have to understand is that there
are major [temporary] sacrifices you have to make. If you can’t make them then
you sadly won’t make it out. You have to understand that things like partying,
socializing and love fly out the window for a bit. You can’t afford to be
caring about concepts like Friday or December because those are simply
destinations for average people. Remember that you are building a life that
will allow you to do whatever the fuck you want whenever you want to do it with
whoever, wherever. People who are too afraid to let go of comforts of life to
achieve greatness, will never make it. Be ready to lower your expenses, shop
less, less take outs & less of a good time with normal people out there.
(You’ll end up being a good cook lol!)
8. Time (80%
reduction of TV, entertainment i.e. Distractions)
There’s one excuse I hear a lot from people
who have full time jobs but have ideas and want to branch off towards their own
businesses and that excuse is: “I don’t have enough time.” Ummmm ok... sorry to
burst your bubble, we all have 24 hours hey, what makes us different is how we
choose to spend those 24 hours. They complain about not having time, yet they
want waste their time watching series upon series, partying and all that
bullshit that’s simply put there to distract you. I had to choose and reduce
what I watch because I understood what was at stake, so I settled to watching
Suits, Naruto (anime) and maybe 1 or 2 other shows, because there’ll be days
you have to escape. If people wanted to go out and I didn’t want to go out, I
stayed home, regardless of what they said to me, I figured fuck them, I’m tryna
be great!
9. Accepting
yourself
Here’s something interesting, we are all
already different so it’s not about trying to be different, it’s all about
[accepting] yourself, your difference & acting on it. If people call you
weird or strange, then you’re doing it right, the right people will stay and
the wrong people will leave, laugh at you, talk shit about you, but secretly
admire you. You will begin to distance yourself from a lot of people and that’s
also ok. Society rules people with a low self-esteem and they’re all
unknowingly pessimistic, so you have to distance yourself from people like
that, especially the ones with fancy jobs who think they understand business
when they actually don’t know shit. You’ll notice how your reality starts to
clash with people and that’s also a good sign. When they love Friday, hate
Monday, love public holidays & wait for December and you love Monday, hate
Friday, hate public holidays and couldn’t care less about December then you
know you’re on your way. Time is really an illusion so spend time alone, listen
to your inner voice and let that be your one and only guide.
10. Put
yourself out there and open yourself up to variety
What I’ve seen is that we naturally are
social beings that have a need to always meet new people yet once again our
great friend “society” has instilled this fear into us that paralyzes us. It
defines people as introverts and extroverts which is all once again a silly
concept because even “introverts” know people. If they really were introverts
they wouldn’t know people. So we’re all “extroverts” we just have different
degrees of it. Never be afraid to put yourself out there, go to a bar alone and
have a drink while talking with people. Variety is intelligence to me & the
more things you open yourself up to, the more your mind learns to adapt and mix
ideas. So if you’re black, go to white parties and vice versa, sure we are
culturally different but we are fundamentally similar and those differences are
actually fascinating. Date a black, white, yellow or purple girl/guy, life is
too short and too exciting to stick to what you know always.
11. Network
“You’re only as effective as your network.”
“Your network determines your
net-worth.”
This point goes with the previous one, but
it needed its own title because this is probably the one thing you have control
over that will ensure your success. Everything you need is sitting in the minds
of people around you and more importantly in their phonebooks. Remember &
utilize that but don’t steal it, ima use it for my next book!
12. Read
& keep a journal
Stop wasting your time with shit that
doesn’t matter. Stop reading novels & bestsellers (well temporary) because
they don’t help anything but build your literacy skills and let’s face it, you
passed English in high school long ago. Go get yourself books from people who went
in the same directions you’re afraid of going in. Get books on things that
fascinate you, on the life you want to live and experience. Once again, switch
the TV off and party less, you can watch all the TV you want on your yacht and
throw the best parties on it too, but for now read shit that matters to you and
your journey. When reading business books also try not to follow them blindly,
different businesses mean different experiences and there’s like a
0,00000000001% chance that you’ll go through what they went through so make
what you read your own. I make sure I read at least 5 articles I somehow find
on the net and read at least 2 books a month.
“Not all readers are leaders, but all
leaders are readers”
Keeping a journal is also extremely
important because it lets your mind know that what it thinks & experiences
is important enough to take time and document. Think of your mind as its own
personality that talks to you, and if you treat it like someone important
enough for you make notes on what it thinks, it simply won’t stop talking &
sharing its deepest thoughts and secrets with you. Trust yourself and the power
of your ideas!
13. Music
“Music
is what feelings sound like”
I don’t know how much people value music
but music got me through some really terrible and dark days. I don’t know why
music has the mood altering power it has but make music your best friend
throughout the journey because it will change your frowns into smiles. And once
again embrace all kinds of music, don’t be too black or white just live!
14. Be ready
for all kinds of bullshit, stress and lack of sleep
Life never goes according to plan so why
should business or your dreams be any different. There’ll be days where you
literally want to shoot yourself and everything in the room with a chain-gun
because things will frustrate you to a point of no return. You’ll lose and gain
weight, lose sleep and have mood swings like a pregnant woman who’s expecting
triplets but once again this is another reason why you need passion &
music, they will get you through. Remember: “What you’re going through is
preparing you for what you asked for or wanted.” Exercising is also a must.
15. Changes
“People
will look at you strange saying you’ve changed as if you worked so hard to stay
the same” – Jay-Z
I am under the belief that a human being
changes one for one with the experiences he/she faces. Think of experiences and
changes as perfectly complementary goods (It’s good to know that my Economic
Science degree wasn’t such a waste) and so if point 14 made you aware of the
many experiences you will go through then imagine the changes. That’s right,
you’re gonna change more times weekly than Kim Kardashians lovers. You’re going
to become harder towards society, somewhat insensitive, have a low tolerance
for weak people and their problems, girls with no ambition won’t interest you
anymore, you’ll become more enlightened, want to spend more time alone or with
people that matter, become a control freak, love life and become more curious.
You’ll be going through things and making decisions that your corporate friends
will only be able to make in 20 years of service, that shit will change you.
16. Self
education
Eventually you realize that what we learnt
in formal education was simply a waste of time because we were not taught how
to deal with world the way it truly is. So it’s on you to learn shit that
nobody is willing to pay you to learn. Average people believe that information
they come into contact with is enough and they’ll even pat themselves on the
back whenever they watch the Discovery channel or Nat Geo. But to you who want
to be great, it isn’t so. Your journey forces you to read more, be more
observant, think more & understand more. Think of yourself as being a
superhero, and nobody is simply born one; you make yourself one unless you are
Tony Stark or Toby McGuire. Entrepreneurship
is an extreme sport!
17. Friends
that matter
Society will tell you that going into
business with your friends is suicide, but if you’re young and people you know
are young then what must you do? Thank goodness that I have a good friend
called Sun Tzu who wrote “The Art of war” and said: “When you have means but
are not getting anywhere, seek appropriate associates, and you will be lucky.”
And “A small army that has achieved fullness and a singular purpose will
destroy a large army that has achieved emptiness and a mismatched purpose.” I went into business with my friends and it’s
been the best thing ever because we want the same thing and work equally as
hard to achieve the goal. We’re invested in risk and reward and have done
amazingly well thus far.
18. Build
something and create a value preposition.
“Entrepreneurs
must build something and then seek funding.” – Unknown
A
lot people whom I meet & set up their businesses, will tell
me that they have ideas and require funding from somewhere and complain that
there is no funding. When I ask further, I find that they haven’t even written
a business plan or developed a working prototype and basically want someone
else to take on all the risk. Understand that it is your job to alleviate the
risks of possible investors and that they don’t see what’s in your head. They
care about how much you’ve done, the numbers and how much of your own money
you’ve put in, so create something of value before you seek investors. You have
to bootstrap (a term that means funding a start-up yourself until you seek
investors) by asking your friends and family for funds by making them believe
in your vision.
19.
Expectations and timelines.
“You will always have plans and they will
work out if you keep at them, but remember that your plans will not always go
according to your timeline.” – My Dad
Let the story write itself in its own time,
you do all that you have to and let a force greater than yourself do the rest.
I think we’re done here.
20. Shut out
the noise from people and their fears.
“The
opposite of courage in our society is conformity not fear.”
People are afraid of following their dreams
and will make excuses for not going after them and you sadly have to distance
yourself from them. Success is not about how much money you make or how
prestigious your job is, fact of the matter is that you will know when you’re
not where you’re supposed to be regardless of how much you bullshit yourself. I
read somewhere: “Success is the progressive realization of a worthy ideal,” so
basically a person who is [deliberately] doing a pre-determined job that he
decided to do [deliberately]. So in the face of it all, it’s all about saying
to yourself: “This is want I want and I’m gonna go after it, regardless of what
society says.”
21. Share
your experiences and story with people.
I personally think that ideas choose people
who they believe can bring them to life. The whole point of ideas is to improve
humanity and help each other because that’s what it all comes down to. So don’t
be afraid to share your deepest thoughts on whatever platform you use because your
story and your words have the power to change lives and unleash people you don’t
know. I remember this girl once telling me shit for not posting my FB status
updates anymore, she was like: “Lui, I don’t know why you stopped updating your
facebook status. There are people you don’t know who wake up and want to know
what you have to say because it helps them so you can’t afford to not share
your thoughts when you have them. You’ve been blessed with an exceptional mind
and so you can’t not share what’s on it!” I was so deeply moved...
Now here I am... so start a blog, YouTube
channel or twitter account and share.. Catch me on Twitter @Lui_Innovator.
22. Have fun, make mistakes, break the rules and live!
“Move fast & break things” – Marc Zuckerberg
“Stay hungry, stay foolish!” – Steve Jobs
The most important point has to be this
one. I guess I went through a lot, changed a lot and cried a lot, but I knew every
day that we were having fun. We were creating something new and that’s really
all that matters. If you’re not having fun, stop what you’re doing and do
something else, it’s not worth it. Understand that in today’s world, not taking
a risk is the biggest risk of all so understand that this is your life and
you’re only here once so while you still have time, take risks, make mistakes
but most importantly live!!!
@Lui_Innovator That's me, I look cool don't I?? haha
Well said brother Troy! ;-)
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