A successful entrepreneur lives a life that many envy. They work for themselves and have the freedom to dictate their own schedule and life. However, like anything worthwhile, a successful entrepreneur has worked very hard to achieve their lot in life and often does things and thinks things that go against what most ordinary folk do, hence their success. They refused to settle for the life most of us have CHOSEN to live and created their own reality and success. There are many things that need to be in place to be a successful entrepreneur. Some have these traits and some do not. I believe that if the desire for the freedom of self-employment is strong enough, anyone can achieve it with determination and mental effort.
1. Having an Independent Mindset: A successful entrepreneur is someone who can think for themselves and believe that they have what it takes to achieve what they want. They are okay working for themselves and being responsible for their own results. This is not to say that they never need help but in general, they need to believe in their own abilities and they are pretty much on their own. They also tend to not follow the pack and are comfortable with their own ideas regardless of the opinions of others. There is perceived risk in striking out on your own and an independent-minded person will not care much what others think of their plan. Most people are too scared to truly live their dreams and it is vital to block out all the negativity and doubts of those people who like to shoot down anything they would be too scared to do themselves.
2. Discipline: A successful entrepreneur is strongly disciplined. Unlike a typical office job, they are not required to be anywhere at a certain time and their tasks and deadlines are not outlined by someone else.They are only accountable to themselves and their success is completely up to them. They care deeply about succeeding and they do what it takes everyday to get where they need to be. Discipline stems from a strong desire to get what you want. Most entrepreneurs have a very detailed picture of their ideal future and are totally willing to do what they need to do to get there.
3. Desire for Self-Improvement and Development: Of course anyone enters any business or job to make money. We need it to live in our society. However, a successful entrepreneur is not just doing a job, he or she is cultivating a specific lifestyle that is deeply deeply desired. While making money is important, they are also focused on becoming better people. A successful entrepreneur reaps financial rewards as well as spiritual and mental ones. You need to be a certain person to succeed and a serious person will enjoy and want to make these changes so they may lead a better life.
4. Ability to Deal with Stress, Change, and Obstacles: Most people cannot handle the negatives of life and often give up on things at the first sign of a problem. A successful entrepreneur does not surrender to these things and give up, but adjusts, adapts, and uses these negative experiences to strengthen their character and resolve. Anyone who has ever achieved anything great has almost invariably hit snags, suffered doubts, etc..but refused to let them stop him. The picture of success is so ingrained in these successful people that they know it cannot be any other way and anything to the contrary is just an appearance and means nothing in terms of getting what they want.
5. Having a Clear Picture of Wants and Desires For the Future: Clarity of goals and purpose is vital for success. Without this clarity, it is impossible to stay motivated and persevere through all the perceived obstacles and doubts. A successful entrepreneur knows exactly what he or she wants and why. Keeping this picture in mind is like gasoline in a car...it is what keeps it going. They never forget why they chose this path and they make sure they get there. They persist knowing that all they are doing now is going to create everything they want to be happy.
6. Patience: A successful entrepreneur knows that it takes time to build any successful endeavor. They do things in an orderly fashion and are able to see the big picture. Most of us want something for nothing and give up rather quickly when we fail to get the exact results in a relatively short period of time. A successful entrepreneur learns the necessary skills, takes the time to refine and rework, and thinks long term. If you seek instant gratification at all times, building a successful business for yourself will be extremely difficult.
Like I mentioned earlier, I truly believe anyone can become a successful entrepreneur if they want it bad enough and are willing to develop necessary traits and skills they may be lacking. Working for yourself is one of the greatest freedoms and can open up every part of your world, not just your worklife.
