I can remember when I lived for the weekends – Fridays were by far my favorite day of the week.  5 days a week I existed and only truly lived 2 days.  On Sunday nights, when 60 minutes came on, that was my signal – it’s almost Monday. My mood immediately changed.  It would be many years before I began to realize this was a crazy way to live.

There were periods when I enjoyed Mondays – maybe I had just changed jobs or was working on an exciting project at work.  However, it was when I started my own business that I started to have extended periods of TGIM (Thank God it’s Monday).  You will find that many entrepreneurs love what they are doing so much that the weekend is a downer.  Entrepreneurs want to be making things happen.  Moving from point A to point B.  Monday kicks it all off.

However, I’m starting to understand that there is another state.  It can be fleeting, but can also be sustained.  The ones who have been able to sustain it all have one thing in common.  They have discovered their purpose.  Their reason for being.  Discover your purpose and it’s no longer TGIF or TGIM – it’s Thank God it’s Today…

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Eric Thomas is one of the hottest motivational speakers in the business. The guy is gifted there are no two ways about it.  I discovered him a couple of years ago and highlighted one of his most famous speeches in a post called “How Bad Do You Want to Be Successful?”

In his talk he said, “If you want to be successful you gotta be willing to give up sleep.” When I launched my first business back in the early nineties that was part of the gig.  I worked a regular J.O.B from 9 to 5 and then worked my passion until I feel asleep late into the night. It was nothing to get only 2 or 3 hours sleep if a big deadline was approaching.  Still to this day if I’m locked-in on a project I will forget to eat or work late in to the night.  I don’t think twice about it.  Sleep is simply not that high or my priority list.

In one of Eric’s latest speeches to a group of students, he says something in a way I had never heard it said before.

Your dad can be a billionaire, but the drive he had to get the billions (is his) – he can’t take you to Walmart to buy the drive. You can’t go buy drive. They don’t sell it.

The written word does’t do it justice. Go listen to it – the Heart of Detroit.

The drive, desire, passion of the most successful people is unmistakable. Eric was homeless. He sleep outside and ate from places unimaginable. Even if Walmart sold drive he didn’t have the money to buy it. Will Smith says if he gets on a treadmill with you either one of two things will happen.  Either you will get off first or he will die (Will Smith – I’m Not Afraid to Die on a Treadmill).  There are countless other examples.

Eric’s quote also got me thinking about the century old debate – are entrepreneurs born or made? It’s safe to say that entrepreneurs have drive. They make up less than 1% of the population. If you are in the top 1% of anything – you have something going on.  The politically correct answer to this question is that entrepreneurs are made. That means that anyone that wants to become an entrepreneur can become one. I actually lean towards the “made” camp.

That said, there is a gap in the “made” camp’s theory.  I’ve taken a number of courses on entrepreneurship and have never heard it mentioned. Read numerous books – nothing. Business plans don’t address it.

In my opinion, the will to succeed is truly the secret sauce. I have no idea where it comes from.  I’m not sure if it is a made or born thing, but one thing is certain – Passion, Drive, Desire, the Will to Succeed can’t be bought.  They don’t sell it.

Check out Eric Thomas’ new book “The Secret to Success.”  It’s a great book. I read it in two sit-downs.

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Less than 1% of the population are entrepreneurs. Why? Because it’s hard as crap. Sometimes it feels like you are breaking a board over your head. Literally. LOL!

What have we learned here? Leave comments below…

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1. It Starts with a Dream

One of our biggest problems is that realists surround us.  Even the ambitious realists, the ones that encourage us to go to college so that we can get a good job – aim too low.  Where are the people encouraging you to create jobs instead of looking for one?

2. MindShift

As we get older, the stakes of failure get higher. The responsibilities of family, mortgage payments and retirement are enormous. The gravity of letting everyone down with a failed entrepreneurial attempt or dream chasing exploit are intense.  Who would blame you if decided to keep your head down low on your JOB and forget about that crazy idea?

3.   Act (walk the walk)

 This is where the rubber hits the road. Dreaming big and thinking differently is important, but unfortunately until you take action it is all just wishful thinking.

4. Only Passion will allow U 2 Persist

“People say that you have to have a lot of passion for what you are doing.  Itâ€s totally true.  The reason is because it is so hard … that any rational person would give up.  If you look at the ones that were “successful” in the eyes of society oftentimes the ones that were successful were the ones that could preserve when it got really tough. The ones that didnâ€t love it quit, because they are sane.”   Steve Jobs

5.   No Excuses None

Do yourself a favor the next time a situation occurs – instead of making an excuse accept responsibility and move on.  It is weird how things fall into place afterwards.

 

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Watching ESPN you would think that Michael Jordan never missed a shot.  Truth be told, not only did he miss shots – but game winners as well.  Can you imagine how disappointed he was after missing a game winning shot?  The gravity of letting everyone down. If he decided to pass instead of shoot in the next situation – who would have blamed him?

As we get older, the stakes of failure get higher. The responsiblities of family, mortgage payments and retirement are enormous. The gravity of letting everyone down with a failed entrepreneurial attempt are intense.  Who would blame you if decided to keep your head down low on your JOB and forgot about that crazy business idea?

Do you have the guts to fail?  I’m not going to cavalierly throw that question out there.  It is not a decision that can be taken lightly, but here is something to think about.

As the ramifications of the great recession continues to play out, companies are determining that a smaller workforce is sufficient.  Many jobs are not coming back and it’s creating what’s called “unintentional entrepreneurs.” Essentially laid off workers who have decided to give entrepreneurship a shot.

I’ll save that for another blog post, but that sounds like trouble.

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Denzel Washington made a powerful commencement address to the graduates at University of Pennsylvania. He asks them, “Do you have the guts to fail?”  It is worth a listen…

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