The Five Essential Questions Every Entrepreneur Needs to Answer
The Editor-at-Large for Psychology Today, Hara EstroffMarano, said in her an article “The Art of Resilience,”
“At the heart of resilience is a belief in oneself—yet also a belief in something larger than oneself. Resilient people do not let adversity define them. They find resilience by moving towards a goal beyond themselves, transcending pain and grief by perceiving bad times as a temporary state of affairs… It’s possible to strengthen your inner self and your belief in yourself, to define yourself as capable and competent. It’s possible to fortify your psyche. It’s possible to develop a sense of mastery.”
Being a successful entrepreneur is a full-body experience. It takes heart, soul, mind and body to make your way from idea to successful business. No idea can stand on its own — every idea must have a person behind it who believes in it. You, the entrepreneur, are the brand ambassador of your idea. For others to believe in your idea, you have to show extreme belief in yourself as the ‘owner’ of that idea. The best way to begin living your idea is to ask yourself the following questions — and then know the answers.
Are you emotionally resilient?
As an expert on Emotional Intelligence and Leadership, I find that EQ is as important as IQ, but is often ignored in entrepreneurship literature. The cliché that business and emotion do not go together does not apply to entrepreneurship. Entrepreneurs face failure and then have to get back on their feet. Emotions are one of the biggest resources that will build your capacity to bounce back. So learn about your emotions — how events affect you, where your personal strengths are and where your emotional weaknesses are as well. Feeling empowered is different from being emotional.
Are you mentally strong?
Mental strength is taught to athletes to keep them focused and resilient. My work with Indian Olympic athletes was all about developing the mental strength to stay centered on their goals and to come back from a loss. I always ask the question, why not teach this to entrepreneurs?The human need is to look for certainty while also looking for variety. As an entrepreneur uncertainty is a daily ritual. You have no idea what may come up and from where a challenge may come. Try these two exercises. First, change your mental state — call unknown events new happenings in order to dismantle the fear of the unknown. Next, assign 50% of your day to new happenings. Be prepared for uncertainty! Get excited to meet anything new that comes up, get your power emotions into play, and condition your mind to stay strong by daily practice.
Are you good at troubleshooting?
Make troubleshooting your biggest hobby and favorite pastime. Your idea may be the best solution for an existing problem, but if you cannot troubleshoot daily issues effectively, those issues will take over and be a drain on your time. Troubleshooting is the spot where most delays are caused, where most thought is spent, and where many opportunities may be lost. Troubleshooting will become second nature when you know that time is precious and then make positive use of time by learning to troubleshoot and do it fast.
Do you think solutions?
You have to become a solution driver by habit. Solutions take you ahead faster than any talk, discussion, thought or analysis. Solution driving can be called the ‘profit habit’ or even a ‘breathing style’ — that is how important thinking solutions is to the life of your business. Each time you drive the solution, you strengthen your mental and emotional ability to deal with the entrepreneurial blues.
Can you work under pressure?
As an entrepreneur, you are your own boss, so where is the pressure?! That is exactly where the pressure is — there is no boss, so there are no rules and there is no reporting. You are solely and fully responsible for yourself, your idea, its execution and its progress. Can you take the pressure of doing it all without any supervision? Are you geared to stay on track, stick to the time frames, finish the tasks and still enjoy yourself? Many new entrepreneurs lose it right here. Procrastination sets in. The best way to combat this is to know exactly what to do each day. Make daily to do lists — be unconventional, stick up notes on your walls, in the car, on the doors. Do whatever is needed to stay on track.
As Hara EstroffMarano reminded us — it is possible to strengthen you inner self and believe in yourself. It is not only possible, it is vital to your success as the brand ambassador of your idea.
