Trying to build a business without entrepreneurial thinking is like trying to build a house with a toothbrush. An employee mindset is not a useful tool for such an important project.
Fortunately, learning to think like a successful self-bosser is something we can teach ourselves. Here are some proven ways of expanding entrepreneurial consciousness.
Make persistence your personal trademark. We've all heard the stories of multiple experiments conducted by Thomas Edison before he figured out how to make a light bulb. Edison's not the only one, of course, to succeed by not giving up.
Find someone you admire who succeeded due to persistence and let their story inspire you.
By the way, psychologists and others who have studied the lives of successful people rate persistence as more important than intelligence.
Embrace repetition. Like persistence, constant practice is a trademark of the successful.
It's also something adults resist, but it's as important in business as it is in sports or music.
If you need to be reminded that excellence requires repeated effort, consider this: when GQ magazine celebrated a milestone, they put Tom Cruise and Harrison Ford, two of the most photogenic creatures on Earth, on the cover.
The photographer who took the cover shot used sixty-three rolls of film to get the perfect picture.
Reframe the way you think about a current job, if you have one. Stop thinking that your job is a permanent condition. Instead think of it as your first profit center in your growing portfolio. It's the one that allows you to generate cash flow while you create your next one.
If you start treating your job as a profit center, chances are greater that you'll be saying good-bye to it sooner since you'll be replacing it with something more satisfying.
Have a phantom mentor. If you could pick anyone, living or dead, to advise you, who would it be? Choose someone you admire greatly and have imaginary conversations with them. It's not as weird as it sounds.
Or start asking yourself, "What would an entrepreneur do?" and see what answers spring to mind.
Find the hidden gift in goal setting. A few years ago, I was considering buying both a desktop and a laptop computer, but was unsure about which to get first.
On a flight to Amsterdam, my seat mate was a pleasant man who told me he worked for a company that made hinges for laptops. I had no idea that this was a thriving industry and bombarded him with questions.
When I told him I was planning to get a MacBook, he said, "They're coming out with something spectacular. If you can wait until August, do. I can't tell you any more about it since what I know is confidential."
Later I realized there's a gift given to goal setters and it's this: when you are clear about your goals, life suddenly is filled with recognizable coincidences. Pay attention.
Let love lead. A friend and I went to a sold out concert of Clannad, the Irish band, at London's Royal Albert Hall. As we were leaving, I said, "Imagine saying, 'Let's start singing Celtic folk songs. I'm sure that will be a hit.'"
Of course, Clannad did nothing of the sort. They simply determined that they would spend their lives sharing the music that they loved, knowing that they wouldn't be alone.
How many others shared that love was something that they couldn't know ahead of time. There's not always a way to do market research when love is your motive.
Trusting your instincts, however, can lead you to your perfect place. Like Royal Albert Hall.
