WHAT MAKES AN ENTREPRENEUR 'TICK'

I agree with you but I think I can summarize it in a little more condense fashion
1. Stubborn you live by your own beliefs not by others
2. Work hard for what you like to be successful you try very hard at it
3. A certain amount of dream and imagination and a way of communicating that to to other people.
4. Driven you Don't give up easily and your not set back by failures you try and try to you get something that works.
5. No Fear, fear sets us back do what you love and don't look back.
Im sure this list could be 50 long but I do not want to digress.

Luck has anything to do with it more probability if I try 1000 times 1 idea will be worth XXX Million.

I couldn't agree more, John. However, I take some issue with your statement above that implies Americans are not afraid to fail - I think this problem is endemic across the world, and you only need to peek at the popular threads in this forum to discern that this attitude is prevalent everywhere - the only difference perhaps is in the percentages of the people who are afraid.

5 Simple Words:

"It's all in the mind."

Thinking determines where you're headed. The thoughts and feelings which you choose on a moment by moment basis determine your reality, whether an entrepreneur or engaged in any line of work.

RB

Ever read "The Millioniare Mindset"?
But I agree (as usual) with ryan: It starts with vision. That ensures Integrity, which is key. All the "make a million dollars this year" wishes are just that: wishes. The goals that spring, spontaneously and inevitably from your true Vision, are the ones that will change your life.

Thanks, it is very much handy article.

I agree with Ryan's statement, "it's all in the mind." Hell, a trust fund baby with NO motivation and no-one to back him up can be a massive failure, but then someone born into a poor family with a "hustler" mentality and know how to make intelligent decisions will be successful...period. "Lucky" doesn't exist.

I agree with you all, but to be a true entrepreneur takes more than just a thought. They say that a journey starts with one step, but without another, and another, you’ll going nowhere. There are those who dream, there are those that can build, but to do both is something very special. We all have some fantastic ideas, but that’s where the stay, as ideas, the true gift this having the ability to pluck them from the mind into the real word…that’s where most people fail.

And after some 40 years in my own businesses, I have personally witnessed many people who had some very good ideas, but where put off by failure. As a matter of fact, from the many discussions I have had with these people, some I personally know, the main reason they abandoned their original idea was fear. You see fear starts a chain reaction by where the person involved starts to make all the excuses under the sun as to why they can’t take action.

And the one thing I have learnt from my dealings with the Americans is this: an American would always believe that he can do better than the other guy, but an English man (I’m English be the way) would always look for reasons why they can’t do it.

That was quite a great post there. Enjoyed it. Thanks for it

Profit makes an entrepreneur tick to his business round the clock, but initially, every entrepreneur has to live without it in a non-complaining manner

Thanks for this interesting information. Really helpful

(Great thread!)

The idea of a journey starts with a single step is one I've discussed with many of my clients as my suggestion is that it starts before that single step.

Using the analogy of walking (taking steps) then surely it makes sense to determine the direction for that first step before stepping out.

A first step in the wrong direction is already putting you another step away from your success.

So coming back to the question of what makes an entrepreneur tick... (which is an intriguing choice of words because I believe it hints toward the answer...)

I'd suggest... Knowledge.

They know their strengths, they know their values, they know how those combine to make great goals and so they know their direction. And that is why many successful entrepreneurs can be unfaltering in their quest for success... This inner-knowledge provides the drive that just keeps pushing them forward. It is not based on external factors, it is what is inside that counts ...that 'ticking' is the inner-knowledge ticking over.

(And picking up from some of the comments above...)

I'd also like to suggest this inner-knowledge is the source of their 'no fear' attitude, the source of their integrity, fortitude, willingness, creativity...

As an aside, and to add to this idea...

As a business trainer and coach for many years I have taken every opportunity to model the many successes I have come across. This has included classic examples from business - like entrepreneurs, million-dollar business folk, CEO's of leading corporations ...however some of the more interesting models have been those from other walks of life.

Like a Brigadier from the British Royal Marines (well, I figured if you want to know about leadership then it makes sense to sit down with someone who's been there, seen it, done it, got the t-shirt ...got the medals!)

The most interesting of these 'other' models - and one I think fits perfectly with this discussion - was a Polar Explorer. You could say, here was a man who had quite literally been to the ends of the earth to achieve his goals!

So, I sat down with Craig for 6mths, finding out what made him 'tick'...

And the results were astonishing ...and at times devastatingly simple!

There is too much to share in this one discussion (otherwise this post would be an e-book in itself!! :p ), however the one thing I do want to highlight was the importance of values when it came to Craig's success.

He has extraordinary goals - he's already acheived many of them and the others he is on course to achieve. And the over-riding characteristic of all these goals is the relationship between them and his values. From the very beginning he knew what was important to him, he knew his values - and that in turn gave birth to his incredible goals and achievements.

Of course, the real test of this 'values' idea was to apply it elsewhere... Do values make a difference in an entrepreneur's quest for success?

Well I'd suggest the answer is a definite 'yes' - Every great entrepreneur I have met has this 'inner-knowledge' and like all great "secrets" it is also in plain sight as you can read it in the biographies of many world-class business successes...

But the real kicker was when working with NEW entrepreneurs - What would happen if they embraced this idea? ...Would it make a difference to their success and drive?

And I am very glad to say it made a HUGE difference with many budding entrepreneurs becoming far clearer in their direction, goals, and overall business performance. Decision making became simpler, confidence grew continually and their businesses created greater and faster success than they ever expected.

So there you go...

What makes entrepreneurs tick?

Answer: Knowing what's important, knowing their values.

All the best,

Michael

I have to agree with Think Wealth ("...to be a true entrepreneur takes more than just a thought") that the "mind" concepts can be a bit overpromoted. They're great, for sure, but Zig Ziglar put it into balance: "Positive thinking will not help you achieve anything but it will help you achieve everything better than negative thinking will."

Hallo, sorry it’s been sometime between visits to this forum, but I’ve been very busy at work.
I don’t want to make the issue of entrepreneurial spirit more complex than it really is, I think that discussing the fundamentals and characteristics of someone who is a mountain climber, or polar explorer etc, is a different concept.
By their very nature they require knowledge and forethought, because of the extreme environments they will find themselves in.
Neither would I think that someone like Einstein was an entrepreneur. He was not a well-educated man…he was indeed expelled from university. But he was one of the greatest thinkers of his time. Knowledge didn’t lead to his revolutionary ‘Theory of Relativity’, it was his mastery of observation and deep thinking that bought him to his conclusions. No one else was even close to his ideas and was therefore, bought about by pure speculation without prior knowledge of the events.
On the other hand an entrepreneur by definition is the owner or manager of a business enterprise, who by risk and initiative attempts to make profit.
I personally know of some very successful entrepreneurs who had no formal education and couldn’t even spell their name, but it didn’t hold them back. Neither were they persuaded or put off by others doubts, many indeed had a single minded attitude towards their goals.
These successful entrepreneurs have demonstrated quite clearly that education and forethought is not what it takes to become a successful businessman. We must abandon the idea that only those who are fortunate enough to receive higher education are the ones who will inherit this earth.
Determination, grit, fortitude, and courage to take action are the qualities that entrepreneurs have in abundance...they buy the knowledge they require through recruiting the right staff.
Sorry a quicky as I need to get back to making a living.

I believe what makes a good entrepreneur is that they never stop learning, they manage stress, they don't see what would be overwhelming problems to most people as roadblocks they can't overcome and they don't fear putting themselves out in public even though they may fail in front of a lot of people.

I left my job in the midst of this recession. Despite how crazy my former co-workers thought that was, they all said they wished they could do what I was doing. It's been almost 5 months now and the dynamic between them and me are so different. There's almost resentment. So yeah, I agree totally with you that entrepreneurship is about having guts.