I. Love. Entrepreneurs. If you’ve ever known a true entrepreneur, you know as well as I do that they’re a breed of their own. My profound admiration for them began about two years ago when my brother started a software development company here in Omaha. You see, Dusty is one of the most intelligent, passionate, driven people you’ll ever meet. Within a year, his business rapidly grew and he also co-founded a blog that highlights and throws events for entrepreneurs, startups and creatives living on the Silicon Prairie. What they’ve done for our region is nothing short of amazing, and over the last few years I’ve had the opportunity to meet some of the nation’s brightest and inspiring individuals around. I’ve listened to them share their plans to build businesses, charities, products… but more importantly, I’ve got to know them on a personal level as well. I have the utmost respect for their their aspirations, their determination, their dreams, their journey. They inspire me to be a better person – not only as a professional, but in every aspect of my life. Here are just some of the reasons why:
- They not only have ideas – but they have the courage, tenacity and bravery to turn those ideas reality
- They believe in themselves through all the doubt and uncertainty that they face
- They are relentlessly passionate about what they’re building and have a tremendous desire to succeed
- They aren’t afraid of working their asses off to make something grow, to make it even greater
- They remind us what it’s like to be a kid, when we were told that anything is possible
- They don’t accept the status quo
- They have a vision of how something can be different, better - and the passion to pursue that vision to make it happen
- They are artists because they create something from the ground up, essentially with their bare hands
- They’re problem-solvers, risk-takers
- They constantly challenge themselves and push themselves out of their comfort zone
- They have to make a lot of decisions throughout the process and each one could potentially be a mistake – but regardless, they persevere
- They withstand criticism, constant doubt and even failure – and just keep going
- They want to change the world, and believe that even just one person or idea can help make a difference
The list goes on and on and on. BUT… What if we all lived our lives like this? What if we took these same attributes and principles and applied them to each aspect of our lives, like our relationships, love lives, careers? Think about it. Entrepreneurs know there are going to be really, really hard times – times when they think it’s just not going to work and they’ll want to give up, yet that doesn’t stop them from trying. It doesn’t stop them from diving in headfirst and giving it all that they have. They know the odds are against them, that there’s no guarantees. They know that there’s only a small chance of success, but if they make it, they make it BIG and they’ll directly reap all the benefits and rewards of their hard work. Similarly, they’ll suffer the loss if it doesn’t work out, but they still go for it.
Life is all about taking chances. It’s about dedication, persperation. High risk equals high reward. I don’t know about you, but I want this is ALL aspects of my life. I’m not striving for mediocre. I want nothing less than INCREDIBLE. In my love life, friendships, my career, everything. Sure, it’s scary. But you can’t be afraid of failing, because if you haven’t tried, you haven’t lived.
I’ll leave you with this inspiring video about entrepreneurs that was produced by Grasshopper:
So… what do you think?
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