Why did you start your business? What made you choose the entrepreneurial path? I hope your answer is not any of the following:
- I wanted to be my own boss.
- I wanted to earn more money.
- I wanted to be free from the 9a.m to 5p.m daily routine.
- This business is the most lucrative I could start.
- I have the technical skill to do the business. etc
Living Fulfilled
For some days now, I have been reading the E-Myth Revisited written by Michael Geber. It has been a real eye opener and I will strongly recommend it to any newbie entrepreneur who really want to achieve TRUE SUCCESS! Well, this is not a book or product review (though I will gladly do one for the book, it is worth it). This is an attempt to share one of the lessons that I have learned in the book.
Have you ever asked yourself what you really want in Life? I have come to understand that you cannot really be happy in life if all you do is labor for SUCCESS, when you do not have a personal definition of what SUCCESS mean to you. I am not talking about dictionary definition. As at today, if you ask Barack Obama for the definition of success, I guess his answer will be “I want to become the next Amercian President”. Meanwhile, some folk do not (I am not talking about pretenders) want anything to do with the American White House! Some guys want to visit Mars before they die, that to them is success.
So, trust me on this one. Nobody on earth can define SUCCESS for you. You are the only one that can define what SUCCESS in life means to you. As our faces differs, so our desires, passions and aspiration defers. It is quiet unfortunate that our parents and friends out of ignorance tries to define for us what SUCCESS is. That is the reason why so many people die UNFULFILLED!
Too many people are struggling and striving to achieve goals that were not set by them. They have long lost the vision of what they actually wanted in life and are now attempting to live others dream and daily labor for achievements they have no passion for.
Let me use myself as an example. Right from small, I have always been passionate about knowledge and I am quite enthusiastic about sharing what I know (even when it is little). I discover at a very early stage in my life that whenever I attempt to teach others the little I know, my wealth of knowledge increases. So, what kind of career am I supposed to undertake! Education right!
Well, I wanted to follow my heart (even though I lack the understanding that I have now as at then). Unfortunately, my guardian discouraged me! It was all out of a good and sincere intention. He wanted me to become successful in life. He pointed out that I will become an average Nigerian citizen and struggle financially if I choose Education as a career. So, I changed my course of study and went for a course that guarantees a blue collar job. Do I now consider myself successful?
On the job, I do well. My colleagues and friends commend my contributions to the organization. However, like Micheal Geber pointed out in his book, my spirit is not happy! Yes, you heard me right, I am earning good salary, but I am not feeling fulfilled because, my childhood dreams have been bottled up all this while. I did not give expression to them!
I have learned in a hard way that it is not all about money. My LIfe Dream is more important than wealth accumulation. I guess you have heard stories of wealthy millionaires who commits suicide because they were unhappy with their life! Sounds weird, but it is true. You can have money and yet be miserable. If you are not working to achieve your life dream, you will end up feeling frustrated and unfullfilled in your old age.
I have made some drastic changes and I am currently drawing up a blueprint for what I want to do with the rest of my life. I am not going to live another’s dream. I am going to give expression to those childhood dreams that have been abandoned for so long. It is time to fulfill my God’s given assignment to this earth. My business will only be a tool in accomplishing that goal. So, I cannot be a slave to the business! In some future posts, I will share with you what I have learned about how an entrepreneur should run a business and not getting ruined by the business!
So, I ask you again, Why did you start your business? Did you start a particular business because you felt it is lucrative? You may just be laboring for nothing. I strongly suggest that you sit down and ask yourself sincerely, “What do I want in Life?” When you have answered that question without any interference from anybody, then you can now ask the next question.
What business can help me achieve my Life Dream? Yes, your business should help you achieve your life dream. It should give you an opportunity to express yourself as a human being. Business should not be an end in itself. It should not turn you to a slave that labors and suffer health problems due to overwork. Your business should be a tool for realizing your dream about life. Then and only then will you find fulfillment as an entrepreneur.
I will love to hear your personal opinion on this one. Please share with us your views on this issue by dropping a comment. Critisism of my views are equally welcome. Cheers.
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Tags: Business, Entrepreneurship, Life Dream
Great post. My main reason is I hate to work under someone. I have no issue if he is a great figure we can look up to. But I know for a fact that most are simply idiots. Why would I wanna call them “Sir,”
erandas last blog post..Why Did You Start Your Business?
You hit some of the important points already. I believe the starting point is to have a clear vision of what you want out of life. This is the starting point. Business and every other things are the “tools” that will help you to achieve your vision. If vision is not known, abuse is inevitable (paraphrased from the Bible).
If you go into business ONLY because of the financial rewards, there is high probability that you will succumb to challenges when they arise. You will always see enough reasons to shift attention to something else atleast there are many ways to make money. So, sit down like naijaecash suggested and draw up a vision for your life. It is after this that you can work on the “things” that will take you close to your vision. You will succeed.
PACEs last blog post..Why Did You Start Your Business?
I’m not sure I actually “started” anything. It just found me I guess. I’ve reached a point in my journey where I’m comfortable following my instincts and can see realistic strengths and weaknesses that I have. For me, it started with finding my passion and the rest is all just part of the journey.
I do agree with eranda, but at time you have no other choice than to work for someone. I started a consultancy business because I felt i had a lot to offer and morever wasn’t learning again. So why not make the money now.
Everyone has their own unique path and no book or guru can prescribe it. Although, learning from successful people is the way to take shortcuts… 🙂
I agree with PACE. You need to find your passion first, then other things can easily be taken care of. Running after financial rewards is bound to keep you unstable for quite a long while.
This post is great.
My primary reasons are to free myself from college debt. If I am successful in my ventures it will also hopefully allow me to hire friends and family and keep me around the people I think are the greatest.
My major purpose of starting business is to
let my services to up-lift human life and
ultimately to fast track my journey to financial
and time freedom.
I started my own business because I think it’s not worth it being an employee of someone else’s company,earning less and working much more.
I also like being in charge of how much I make,rather than waiting for a raise.
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My journey toward my own business has been a long one. It took a long time to know what I was really good at. I know enough about myself that I am destined to be in charge of my own destiny. My own business means feeling God’s pleasure in what I create and how I help others in the special events of their lives.
am curretly studying busine and management in the UK and am in my second year and avarege student and immediate I finish am coming back to naija to set up a business of my own but i don’t know were to start from. i hate the fact for working for someone, carring CV looking for work, some of my friends have up to six difference CV for diff jobs i have none. there so many nigeria here that refuse to go back home their said nigeria economic is bad, naija is corrupt, naija this , is that . how can the country move forward when they stay back in other man land and be doing care work, cleaning jobs and also some of them are suffering here. i love your article . i have always want the world to know make as women who make difference in peoples life
the reasons
– i want to be my own boss
– i want to creative jobs for people
– I want to my family and people around because am the type of person who dont like see people suffering, like help people with their problems in anyway I can and whenever i see people suffering and am not able to help them it make me feel very sad. i want to touch the life of less privilege around world . so have to start a business that will generate money to be able to carryout my desire.
recently I watch Zimbabwe’s Forgotten Children on bbc. on My God you need to see people suffering that country, i was crying wish i could help.
need your advice and also online business i can do at am in school.
@Love I wish you all the best. There are several tips here in Nigerian Entrepreneur that can be of benefit to you. Just feel free to browse the categories. However, if you have a specific request, you can make such in the forum section. You can be rest assured someone will give you the assistance you need. Cheers.
“You can have money and yet be miserable.” I couldn’t have said it better. I enjoy the simplicity of my work at home. I could enjoy my family anytime I want to. Considering I have a toddler, that’s a lot. =]
wonderful writeup. life is all about being fulfilled.