Entrepreneurship: It is Either a Gift or a Curse!

The thought of being an entrepreneur is scary for some and a very comfortable situation for others. There are significant rewards for putting everything on the line, building a business and achieving success. As a matter of fact, that is how the global economy was built and survives powerfully today. In the US, small business makes the country run! People from around the globe imagine the opportunity of immigrating to the US and building a business. But with all of the potential for success, power and wealth, there are significant risks involved in being an entrepreneur. Failure, bankruptcy and loss of the dream strikes fear in the heart of most. Those who fear entrepreneurship find the comfort and security of a corporate environment most comfortable. A true entrepreneur will tell you that they will not work 40 hours a week to enrich someone else! They want wealth, power and freedom, not allowing a corporate leader to give them permission to live their life on their own terms.

The Two Sides of Entrepreneurship

Most entrepreneurs grow up with a sense of knowing they are different from other people. Entrepreneurs enjoy the attention and the sense of mission it gives them. That attention and purpose gives them a feeling of self-worth that pushes them to continue improving. As a result, they become overachievers. They excel at making deals and thrive on the negotiation process. An entrepreneur’s gift is being an innovator. They love to innovate, compete and achieve, and have the desire to make things better, faster and more profitable.

The same drive that gives entrepreneurs that edge to win wants to take over everything they do. They have a hard time letting go of that need to win at everything. We see them as egotistical or self-centered at times. Those traits make it difficult to maintain relationships with other people who aren’t visionaries — or those who don’t share the same passion and drive.

Entrepreneurs end up on an island with a small circle of people who understand their experience running businesses every single day. When this happens to an entrepreneur, they begin doubting their life’s mission and feel inadequate to continue. This is the perfect storm. Despite all their successes, inadequacy, coupled with isolation, is the formula for depression and sabotage. When entrepreneurs don’t know how to handle the curse. They sabotage their businesses and their relationships.

Entrepreneurship Moves Ahead

Entrepreneurship is one of the hardest things you will do in your life, but it is also one of the most fulfilling. Nothing worthwhile is easy, so don’t ask for things to get easier — ask to get stronger. This is the gift and the curse of entrepreneurship.