1.  “It does not matter how slowly you go so long as you do not stop”. We live in a world of speed and instant access, yet it is common for entrepreneurs to have minimal business success, on average 17 times, before they reach the pinnacle of success.  It really does not matter how long it takes, what matters is getting there in the end.

2.  “Our greatest glory is not in never falling, but in getting up every time we do”. These words have been repeated by leaders throughout time, recently with a little variation by Sir Winston Churchill who said “Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts.”  Hmmm, the power of great philosophy is that it never changes.  Such good advice for any entrepreneur.

3.  “What the superior man seeks is in himself; what the small man seeks is in others.” Looking inside yourself to find the strength and conviction necessary to achieve anything that you want is the foundation of modern personal development programs.  Today, this philosophy is couched in such terms as “lead from the front” or “be the change that you want to see” and “the only person that you can motivate is yourself”.

4.  “Wheresoever you go, go with all your heart.” Today’s philosophers and guru’s talk about finding your passion, having a burning desire or 100% commitment, they could just as easily say “go for it, with all of your heart”.

5.  “They must often change who would be constant in happiness or wisdom.” And the baby boomers have thought that they had the premium on change with frequent comments that they are change weary or have endured too much change in their lives.  Linking change to happiness and wisdom is a concept not often heard; yet any entrepreneur is likely to be living this reality.  Others might choose to live a life with less fulfillment rather than face the change required to do something different.  The idea of seeking wisdom and happiness through change is exciting and one of Confucius’ philosophies to be embraced.

6. “Things that are done, it is needless to speak about…things that are past, it is needless to blame.” You attract what you focus on and if you focus on past hurts or injustices then you will get more of the same. Blame is a negative emotion and if you focus on blame you will attract negativity. Instead, use what you do not want to get focused on what you do want for your future and speak about that.

7.  “Without an acquaintance with the rules of propriety, it is impossible for the character to be established.” If you want to be successful, be in the acquaintance of successful people. If you want to be a millionaire associate with millionaires.  You will learn much in the company of others and even more if you carefully select your role models.

Thousands of years ago or 2009? It seems that the philosophical teachings remain the same and entrepreneurs can continue to look to the Masters of every generation to learn and develop their own unique way of viewing the world and achieve success.

How do you embrace change and maintain 100% commitment to your business, even when the going is tough?

How are you using the present moment to prepare for your future?

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Jim Rohn, writing in his book “7 Strategies for Wealth and Happiness” was not specifically writing about entrepreneurs when he said “One of the fundamental strategies of living the good life is knowing what information you need in order to achieve your aims.” He went on to say that if you wish to be successful then study success, if you wish to have happiness then study happiness.  People who achieve what they desire do not do it by accident.  They study and they practice.  It is easy to see how this would apply to the entrepreneurial person.

To become an entrepreneur, start by determining what it is that you desire and study that, practice that, focus on that and allow it to come into your life.

Are you becoming an entrepreneur?

Recently for example, I was in Hawaii with a group of entrepreneurs who raised $300,000 dollars for the Make a Wish Foundation in Hawaii. I am also aware of a well known Cairns entrepreneur who has set up and sponsors a number of Foundations, some in support of young people.  Doing good works is part of being an entrepreneur, however they are not necessarily out there telling everyone that they are doing good things.  Often it is about the quiet achiever.

Becoming an entrepreneur is about much more than making money.

Intention, as described by  Deepak Chopra is singlemindedness of purpose, it is well defined  and not countermanded by any other conflicting desires or interests. You make a decision and go for it and then be alert for opportunities.

Napoleon Hill, the first writer of personal development, calls this your “burning desire”; grow your burning desire to be an entrepreneur. You may not have that burning desire right now but you may have a tiny ember, glowing somewhere deep within.  Often people have carried a dream from childhood and every now and then they feel the warm glow of what used to be a flame, but then they let it go again.  It is true that many potential entrepreneurs know what they want but simply do not do what is necessary to get it.  So, to overcome that inaction, fan the flames of your burning desire to achieve whatever it is that will take you to entrepreneurship.

There are any number of ways to fan those flames and become an entrepreneur! I have heard it said that the quickest way to have a million dollars is to make a million dollars and there has never been a better time than right now.  Right now is always the best moment to take action and it will always be easier to take action if you burn to have something.  Take a little time to figure out what the something is.  For me it was to be happy, have freedom and have my own business.  So on all of those fronts I found my burning desire.  Give attention to what you want.  Think about it, talk about it, see your burning desire growing and growing and intend to succeed.

Intent is everything to the entrepreneur, it keeps you focused and in action. It is hard to imagine how one can succeed if you do not start out with that intent.  This is the basis of the burning desire.  Your intent should headline your every day – I intend to succeed at …., today I intend to ….., right now I intend to …….  Determine your intent as a part of you overall goals, as part of your day and every moment.

You can even play with this and have fun – being an entrepreneur is not all very serious business. For example, one of my favourite bits of fun is to set off from home with the intent to have a park exactly where I need it and then to see how well I have done.  Intend to be an entrepreneur – it is a key part to your success.

This all points to the fact that entrepreneurs hold a particular attitude. And almost anything that you read on this subject will say that.  An entrepreneur believes that they will be successful, they create an aura of success around themselves and they take a very positive attitude towards achieving success. Of course they do a lot of other things as well, but they hold a positive, optimistic view of the world and their ability to do what they want to do.  They move in a circle of like-minded people and they take the necessary action to keep their positive mindset.

I grant you that is not easy when being bombarded by negative input on a daily basis, yet if you wish to succeed as an entrepreneur it is something that you must do. So here are a few pointers in how to get started with creating your positive attitude:-

• Put your attention on being positive and looking for other positive people.  Within a very short time you will start to hear your own words and those of others and you will identify the positive and negative tone.
• Take a little time out of your busy day to write down what you are thinking about in terms of optimism or pessimism.  Check in with yourself to see if you feel positive.  Do this at least once per day and keep your focus on seeking optimism.
• Find a test for optimism versus pessimism – positive versus negative and see how you rate.  Do this test regularly to see if you are shifting.
• Actively seek out positive things about people or situations and then thank someone for what they have done.  As you continue this process, soon you will be thinking more about the positive and less about the negative.
• Make an effort and send people a written message of thanks.  This makes you think about positives about that person  Send five of these a day for a while and keep up the practice.  People might be a little shy of it at first, but I know people who have kept every one of my notes!
• Go out of your way to help people and be surprised at how good that feels.  Such help will take you outside of yourself and let you see the good in others.  As you get repaid for your kindness, you will see more and more good in others and the world at large.  And become more and more positive.
• Start to associate more and more with those people who are positive, listen to how they talk and the words that they use.  Try it and see how it works for you.
• Finally, read some good personal development material, so that you can keep going.   Inspire yourself on a daily basis.  Try The Gratitude Effect by Dr John Demartini as a starter.

I will finish this piece with a lovely quote from actress Mary Pickford “You may have a fresh start any moment you choose, for this thing we call ‘failure’ is not falling down, but staying down.”

The second resource that is available is the Internet and a search of entrepreneur or entrepreneurs will yield a host of information and from my reading, much of it excellent. Entrepreneurship is becoming a key platform for educators of all kinds which is hardly surprising given the number of people who are no longer prepared to spend their entire life in a job; know by some as Just Over Broke.  Questacon have a lovely page called What is an Entrepreneur to which you could go as a starting point.  Entrepreneur has some fantastic resources and even has this page to help you with ideas – it is a great site, just persevere with the advertising.  And on Becoming an Entrepreneur you will find lots of practical advice.  Give this a try and it might help you to start your entrepreneurial journey.

My favourite ever resource however, is Polaris Media Group, which covers the personal development aspect of being an entrepreneur like magic. These programs are simply the best that you will find and have helped countless people get started on the journey of a lifetime.

Some of the things that I have discovered about entrepreneurs is that they have the following traits:-

• they are operating new business ventures
• take responsibility for the risks that they take
• have deep belief in the product or service
• have a burning desire to succeed
• are prepared to work hard and do whatever it takes
• are optimistic
• hold a realistic view
• show leadership, especially during adversity.

Entrepreneurs can see a great reward, they set their sights in it and will take great risks in order to achieve the reward. Incidentally, entrepreneurs come in all shapes and sizes, ages, nationalities and both genders.  Oh, and while no one said so, I just bet that entrepreneurs associate with other entrepreneurs and successful people.  And I also just bet that they seek out optimistic and positive people to be around.  There is no doubt that the people that you associate with can either help or hinder your progress.

For example, if you are associating with people who are not entrepreneurs but who work long hours for little reward, then chances are that is what you will do. On the other hand, if you associate with millionaires then you will know what it is that they do to earn money and achieve success.  Now I hear the arguments that success is not always about money and that is true, however money gives you a degree of freedom to achieve other things in life and often that is what people are looking for.  The freedom to make their own decisions and do their own thing when they want to.

In the words of Anita Roddick, founder of The Body Shop and entrepreneur, “success to me is not about money or status or fame, its about finding a livelihood that brings me joy and self-sufficiency and a sense of contributing to the world”. I’ll let the entrepreneur have the last word.