When I was a high school student I wanted to be a pilot, a marine biologist, a morning radio show host, and finally an actor; I wanted to be famous – A rockstar!
I would now argue that the NEW “rockstar” job is being an entrepreneur. It’s become so trendy to be one, or as my friend
James Rouse says, to be a ruckus maker! So many young people love to put the word “entrepreneur” in their bio’s on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook. They think that saying it is the same as being it. It’s not. So to them I say, “Stop and take a deep breath, you’re not there yet.”
You wouldn’t put ‘Hollywood Actor’ in your bio if you made community theatre. You would never accept a rec hockey player calling themselves an NHLer. You have to be honest not only with the world, but with yourself. I had a friend who played in a band for years and would label himself as “an aspiring rock sensation” – That I get! That’s a
FLAG; a real dream or goal.
There’s a new term I hear a lot: WANTrepreneur. It’s someone who wants to pursue entrepreneurship. You may have heard me mention it a few weeks ago in my blog “
The quick fix”. I understand the desire but I respect the journey too much to say it’s the same as being an entrepreneur.
You would never dare say you climbed Mount Everest if all you really did was stand at the base looking up. You have to climb, struggle, fall, recover, and get back up. It takes work. In a society where people seem to get famous instantly, the long road up isn’t attractive. However, when you have invested at least 5 years working on your business or idea, only then can you say you’re truly on an entrepreneurial journey.
That’s why after years of watching people fake the journey or simply get lost on their path to entrepreneurship, I asked my friend and
CYSB Speaker Nick Foley to be part of a new podcast:
The Authentic Entrepreneurs. We release a new episode every Monday. If you’ve read this far in then do yourself a favour and listen on iTunes or watch on YouTube. There are some solid nuggets of information and tips to help you. There are also some raw realities that we talk about.
You should also look for other entrepreneurs to follow like
Garry Vee on instagram. These people get you fired up and in the right mindset.
Here’s to your honest journey. It isn’t easy, but man is it fun if you can stick to it.
