There’s a great deal of courage and clarity required to be an entrepreneur. But what happens when mortality, humanness and emotions surface that challenge our best efforts? How do we manage the balance between beasting up for success and the slow drain of life’s battles?
The best entrepreneurs have tapped into a level of mind typically seen in top level athletes when they enter “the zone.” They’ve found a way to be unstoppable despite the human pull of emotional upset. Using the pain to fuel new actions, these masterminds purposefully seek out ways of transferring potential obstacles into the greatest success. It starts with response-ability.
A self-proclaimed control freak, I heard Tom Bilyeu, co-founder of Quest Nutrition, say that even if a drunk driver hits him, he would take ownership for it. He’s aware that he too had a part to play and would rather have control of the situation than give his power over to someone else.
It’s a toxic, common thread to blame the world and outer influences for our suffering but the greatest entrepreneurs are willing to take extreme ownership for their lives. No matter what happens, they are willing to step up and take the blame. While humans tend to be more affected by emotions due to an identity with victimhood, the greats are willing to stop playing the victim role in exchange for conquering their fears.
Gary Vaynerchuck says, “There’s no such thing as Beast Mode. You’re either a beast or not.”
This, I believe, is what separates the true, game-changing entrepreneurs from the rest of the wanna-preneurs. You either have it or you don’t. It’s the toughest moments in life that forge this mindset. Talking the talk is only good for social media game, but it won’t take you very far. If emotions are running high on the back end, and you can’t manage them enough to get right with yourself, you’ll be guided by upset rather than by clarity and every choice will be made in fear. If that’s you, it’s time to reevaluate where your priorities are.
It’s typical for humans to focus 70% or more of their attention on negativity. This creates a life based on random actions according to what one thinks is required of them. A total lack of self- awareness. An entrepreneur looks for ways to overcome this by choosing to take a more calibrated approach. Focusing on the desired outcome and choosing to consciously respond to surfacing emotions is the most effective and empowered way to deal with the humanness we must all face.
With this type of visionary focus, emotions become nothing more than an experience we go through that help us grow stronger. Doesn’t mean it doesn’t hurt, it just means we don’t let it debilitate us.
And how about the moments when we fall so hard in our efforts that our emotions convince us to give up? While many humans tend to convince themselves that because they tried their best it’s reason enough to give up, the greatest entrepreneurs see it as a reason to switch gears and find a more viable solution.
“Fuck try. Trying is an open invitation to failure, just another way of saying, If I fail, it’s not my fault, I tried.” -Tim S. Grover
With the afflictions of loss aversion, humans create their own demise day in and day out. They give up with ease. An entrepreneur must make a decision to face the common logics that keep them playing small and own up to the fact that life will become only as great as we are willing to make it. Instead of fearing how limited potential seems, we must be courageous enough to explore the possibilities in what we don’t see. Entrepreneurs are pioneers of thought that don’t have time or energy to waste on the B.S. excuses of the average person. We are better apt to change the world, and the minds of others, by using the human condition as our greatest tool rather than our greatest curse.
