When you chart a course for entrepreneurialism the experience can be exhilarating, stressful, encouraging, discouraging, promising or filled with pitfalls. And the way you would describe your feelings can change moment to moment.
The above roller coaster description is one of the reasons some individuals feel entrepreneurialism is something they would like to pursue, but apprehension hangs over the possibility like a black cloud.
One of the best ways I can describe the experience of an entrepreneur is being shown a beautiful mountaintop with fresh springs and peaceful meadows. You want to get to that mountaintop, you desire to drink from those fresh springs and enjoy moments of tranquility in the meadow. In that moment you are ready to sign up for the adventure.
You’re ready to go, but the tour director tells you to wait just a little bit longer. By the time you get the go ahead it’s dark outside. The only thing you have to guide you is the memory of the destination and a flashlight.
You point the flashlight in the direction of the mountaintop, but the darkness swallows the light. You look nervously at the tour director and he encourages you to start your journey.
Just as you’re ready to quit and go home, the tour director says, “Point the flashlight toward your feet. It will light just enough so you know where to put your next step.”
In many ways this is the picture of what it is like to become an entrepreneur. You have seen the place you want to go, but the darkness of how to get there can throw you off track. When you deal with issues one at a time it’s a lot like pointing the flashlight at your feet so you can see where to step next.
The memory of where you want to go is the motivation that keeps you moving forward, and when morning comes you can see how far you’ve come.
Entrepreneurialism is the fine art of looking at the unknown and deciding it’s worth the effort to become friends.
There really is an element of faith involved in the pursuit of entrepreneurialism. It takes believing in yourself, believing in an idea and believing that the effort is worth it.
If you are in the midst of pursuing an entrepreneurial goal let me offer this encouragement, if you can keep the end goal in mind and keep making steps toward your goal you have done something many haven’t. Others may see the mountain, they may dream about the springs and meadows, but darkness is frightening and it’s easier to do nothing than take a step into the unknown.