If you enjoyed The Secret Life of Walter Mitty as much as we did, then perhaps you may have heard this quote, which was Life Magazine’s motto for generations: “To see the world, things dangerous to come to, to see behind walls, draw closer, to find each other, and to feel. That is the purpose of life.” While you may have heard it, the real question is: do you understand it?
There seems to be so much complexity to life at first glance, but in reality life is quite simple and quite beautiful. While your circumstance or state of mind can alter how you perceive things, you often miss some of the simplest concepts right in front of you. This framework of simplicity is often overlooked especially as it pertains to entrepreneurship in the scope of life.
There are 3 stages that lead to entrepreneurship, and the majority of us go through them.
The first one is our adaptation of the rat race; we are all thrown in it even if we chose to not work for corporate America. The rat race can be associated simply with our obligation to adhere to the educational system, or working for others in our early years. Our evolution past this stage takes us into being a hamster phase.
A hamster as described in our previous articles is nothing more than a glorified rat. One that understands the concept of belonging to a peer group better than others and therefore earns himself more compensation for the same actions but yet still is dependent upon the system in order to survive.
Entrepreneurship, however, is the next stage someone takes, and while you may think that entrepreneurship in this context is about business, it isn’t.
Instead, entrepreneurship is about self-actualization, and the separation of one’s self from this dependency on the system that others so closely rely on. We are at this stage talking about the correlation between entrepreneurship and freedom of the mind.
Here are the 5 stages the mind goes to before finding purpose and associating the meaning of life with itself.
Curiosity – To see the world: Being curious is always the key to growth. The more curious you are, the more likely you are to seek answers to your curiosity, and there you will find not only answers but exposure to true education. The best form of education is often the one you seek, not the one that is forced on you.
Survival – Things dangerous to come to: Regardless of your desires, beliefs, or how far you want to go in life, your ability to understand how to survive and no longer make survival a goal, but rather a minimum habit, becomes 2% of your life while 98% becomes about growth. When you can anticipate what may threaten your survival, you tend to navigate life without the fear or worry of survival, enabling you to break past the first layer of fear we all have to face in order to grow.
Boundaries – To see behind walls: Walls created by society, rules laid by other people, and boundaries created to make you think and understand things from other people’s perspective. To be able to see past what others show you and create possibilities instead of conforming to the same rules provided. Being able to reach further than where others have gone is the first stage of filling purposeful and understanding self-actualization.
Fulfillment – To draw closer: As you break boundaries and find your purpose, the goal becomes to see it through to the end. Your purpose is revealed and the path ahead is clearer than ever before. It becomes the reason you exist and the fulfillment fuels you on a level much higher than simply having goals.
Connections – To find each other, and to feel: Remember entrepreneurship is about value creation, and it is often through our head that we logically create amazing value for those around us, but it is through our heart that we connect people to ideas and us to people. To feel the impact we make on others and connections with other people, is ultimately where the purpose of life and entrepreneurship cross paths.
Almost a bit psychological but sometimes a new perspective can be what you need to help align and connect the dots, and answer all these unanswered questions in your mind.
