Tag: self-improvement

About entrepreneurship

FabrizioLeave a comment

Entrepreneurship is overrated. And it is underestimated.

Wanting to be an entrepreneur is great. But.

Don’t be one if you want more freedom. Being an entrepreneur does not mean being free, you still have to abide to quite many written and unwritten rules. And eventually, many entrepreneurs feel that they are slave to their work, much more than employees often do.

Don’t be one if you want more time. I don’t even know why this is still a myth, but people actually say that. You will work 24/7. Making your own day does not mean that you will be home every evening by 18 to spend time with the kids and that you will have two days a week to dedicate to family and hobbies. Your work is your family, your hobby, your only thing.

Don’t be one if you want to be rich or successful. We only read the stories of (and idolize) those who make it, and of course we want to walk in the path they cleared. Truth is, most entrepreneurs fail. And fail again. And again. Without ever seeing an inch of success.

Don’t be one if you are tight financially. This links to the paragraph above. Even in the remote scenario your company will be actually successful and profitable, and you can pay yourself and your people a honest and decent salary, you will be personally busted before that happen if when you start you do not have a solid financial basis.

I understand this might sound harsh, yet if there is something I heartily hope for everybody is to do things mindfully. To actually look at their own situation and decide, for themselves, without the influence of some idle stereotypes, what they can and want to do.

Being entrepreneurial does not have to necessarily translate into being an entrepreneur. There are plenty of works out there that demand entrepreneurial skills, and at the same time give a solid salary, chances for success, acceptable work-life balance and the freedom to take responsibility over your work.

Be ready and make your choice.

 

In search of others

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Others do not owe it to you to treat you in a certain way because of your status or position.

Your wife will not treat you with love and care simply because you are a husband. Your kids will not look up to you in admiration all their life simply because you are a parent. Your employees will not seek guidance and listen to your advises simply because you are the boss. Your customers will not look forward to your next product or service simply because you are a multi-billion dollars organisation that can lobby their way through disliked laws and taxes.

It is important to remember two things.

First, treat others the way you’d like others to treat you. Be loving and caring with your wife, give time and attention to your kids, listen to your employees and empower them to take responsibilities, pay your fair share and give back to the community your customers belong to. That is a great first step. It belongs to you, and you don’t have to wait for nobody to give you permission to act that way.

Second, reward the behaviour you seek from others. A simple “thank you” can go a long way in many circumstances. Yet, as it will wear out soon enough, be ready to double down on rewarding in the long term. This requires that you know the people around you, and if you have been good with the first step, it will come easier and more natural.

Wisdom

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One of the things that most resonated with me from what has come out of Davos this year, are the words of anthropoligist Jane Goodall.

We have broken the link between intellect and wisdom. If we think of wisdom as love, compassion and making decisions not based on “how will this help me now”, “how will this help my bank account”, “how will it help in the next shareholders meeting”, “how will it help my next political campaign”. But “how will this decision I make today affect future generations”.

Jane Goodall

It is a most profound thought, and one that is applicable to many of the decisions we take day after day. How often do we stop to ask about the impact of our actions, words, choices on others?

Practicing wisdom also means using your knowledge for the greater good. It is a trait we need in leaders and businesses, nowadays more than ever.

30 days (and some)

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It’s the last day of January, and this means I have been blogging daily for 30 days (actually, something more).

I am happy I have sticked with it. And what makes me even more happy is that so far I have avoided overthinking – “I should not post this”, “This deserves more editing”, “I’ll post this when I have more information”, and I have never for a second stopped wondering if this or that post would get me more views, likes, visitors or followers.

The overthinking part, at least for me, is particularly precious. Overthinking, overediting, overcriticising my work is something I am prone to. That is one of the main costume resistance wears when it comes dissuade me from doing.

Few of my favourites from the month have been.

Write it down – An invitation to elaborating thoughts, feelings, ideas, and more with words.

We are all main characters .. – A reminder that others are trying to do their best just like we are.

Burning or building – A clear choice we constantly have to make.

On to the next 30, then.

Help and resistance

Fabrizio11 Comments

Resistance is a very interesting concept, one I knew I would talk about sooner or later. It is not mine, and it was very well developed by Steven Pressfield in his book The War of Art.

Resistance is a force that works against getting things done. It has different faces (rationalisation, fear, distraction, procrastination, self-criticism just to mention a few), but very generally speaking it is the story we tell ourselves to give us reasons not to do something we want to do.

If somebody offers their help, for example, in a generous and passionate way, the most rational part of us would say: “Thank you, I take it. Here is what you could do”.

But then resistance kicks in. And here is what it says. “They must be busy”, “Just offering their help to be kind”, “Don’t want to bother them”, “There’s no such thing like a free lunch”, “They don’t really care”, “I don’t have time to tell them what they are doing”, “This is not so important after all”, “I don’t even like them and their work”. And so on.

The point is, will you get what you wanted done or not? If the answer is no, be mindful of resistance. It’s the one talking, not you.