iklan
iklan
Being an entrepreneur means that you'll often blaze your own trail: No career guides, counselors or maps will guide you from one step to the next: You'll have to make it up as you go. I’ve been an entrepreneur my whole adult life and it’s the only career I’ve ever known. In a way, that makes me lucky: I’ve become not only comfortable with, but actually good at, forging ahead into unchartered territory.
However, like everyone else, I’ve faced moments of doubt and uncertainty and plenty of sleepless nights. As I look back at the steps that led me from my first sale -- standing next to my grandfather Joe at a folk festival when I was just a young kid -- to my assorted entrepreneurial ventures today, some common themes emerge. 1. Keep the big vision in sight. A big vision will take you far. I put this tip first because when things go wrong on the path to your success, and they will, keeping the big vision in mind will enable you to steer your way back to a successful course. It may not always be the course you imagined, but your big vision becomes your north star, which in turn helps you navigate and orient yourself through the darkness. I believe in this so much, I even co-wrote a book on the subject with my brother. Your vision is your foundation, compass and celestial beacon, lighting the way forward. 2. Fuel your vision with perseverance. What should go hand-in-hand with a big vision is the perseverance you’ll need to keep moving forward. If you’re a Game of Thrones watcher, there was a great line in a recent episode when Stannis Baratheon was being advised about the lack of wisdom in starting a battle in the snow. He responded: “We march to victory or we march to defeat, but we go forward, only forward.” Sometimes, when things get challenging on your path as an entrepreneur, you have to commit yourself to moving forward, regardless of the discomfort and fear surrounding the next steps. When you fuel your big vision with perseverance and the spirit of “only forward,” you eventually meet your success.
