Before You Embark on Entrepreneurship, Read this…

Start with the correct mindset.

Here’s an illustration:

Back in 1992, my favorite rock band U2 was on their Zoo TV Tour.

The moment I saw the news, I knew I wanted to be in the first row, but it would not be easy to make that happen.

This is what I had to do:

1. I called my friends to encourage them to come with me.
2. Some couldn’t make the trip, so I called more friends.
3. Finally I got two friends committed.
4. A few weeks later, the moment the tickets were going to be released, I anticipated and was ready to purchase them.
5. I got the the tickets.
6. I billed my friends.
7. I coordinated the trip for the three of us.
8. I reserved a hotel room.
9. I rented a car, etc.

About 6 months later, the date finally arrived.

It was a sold-out event and had general admission tickets, so, if we wanted the first row, we needed to be there EARLY!

We drove to the venue and waited for ten long hours outside the the stadium for the doors to open.

Crazy, right? I was a teenager full of energy.

But there is a lesson here. This is what the entrepreneurial journey looks like!

I will never forget this because this was probably one of the most AGONIZING TEN HOURS of my life!

But, why agonizing?

Was it the heat? No!

Was it that we were anxious, tired or hungry? No!

The problem was one of my friends.

While I was focused on the PROGRESS towards the goal, my friend was focused on the PROCESS that achieving this goal demanded of us!

My friend just couldn’t stop complaining.

For TEN long hours he just grumbled, protested, mumbled and whined.

You see,

There are three important lessons here BEFORE you become an entrepreneur:

#1: Make sure that you really, really want this. Entrepreneurship is a journey. It will get hot. It will get uncomfortable. It will get tough. But know that if you focus on the progress of the journey, you will never give up.

• If you focus on the goal and enjoy the process, your chances of success increase tremendously.

#2: If you have a partner, make sure he is also passionate about the goal and is willing to withstand the pains of the journey.

• Believe me, a whining partner will give up and leave you stranded or crush your motivation.

#3: #NeverGiveUp