One of the elements of effective entrepreneurship is desire. Anybody who is or has been an entrepreneur realizes that without desire, this whole business thing can be a most unpleasant experience. You work far too long and hard to gain the results that you want.
It has been said that entrepreneurs only work half days… any twelve hours they want. Why would anyone put themselves through this, if there weren’t sufficient levels of desire? The short answer is that they wouldn’t.
There are three elements to nurturing desire. Here, we will cover the first element: play a big enough game.
First Element of Entrepreneurial Desire: Play a Big Enough Game
It seems that different people grow in different ways.
Entrepreneurs, for the most part (I have seen very few exceptions to this) are strivers. They see something that others don’t see, like a specific opportunity to make a difference, and a way to make money tapping that opportunity. One characteristic that separates entrepreneurs from wannabees is their tendency to act on what they see. They usually find a way to make money at it, too.
Strivers quite often get bored, unless they are being stretched, either personally, professionally, or both. If you are not playing a game that is big enough to stretch you, you may find that all of the little details of running and organizing the business are getting to you. Or, perhaps you are finding yourself listless and unmotivated. That is another sign of a game that is too small.
Unless you can thrive on growth and continuous improvement, you may find yourself getting stuck.
We have one client who wanted to build his company to generate $1 million of net income within a relatively short period of time (three years). This level that he had identified for himself represented a significant increase (over 400%) from previous years.
Even though the company had been stable for a number of years, he had constantly been suffering through staff issues and concerns about the accountability of his people, as well as marketing and sales.
After taking on the goal of this increase in profits, he found a whole new level of energy, and dealt with many of the problems with which he had previously been struggling. It was like he had a whole new lease on life.
This lasted for about two and a half years. Then, something interesting happened. He started to approach his financial goal. It was as if the zest he operated with had somehow started to leave him, like a leaky old car battery. Energy levels started to become a little lower, and while he was content with the progress he had made, the spring had left his step.
Does this mean that you have to become an empire builder? No, not at all.
Now, instead of going after more millions, he has taken on the project of actively having his company increase its focus on serving its employees. His company is now a place where people grow, personally and professionally. This is not yet handled for this person. There is a great deal of work to do. Yet the spring is back in his step, and the fire is alive in his eyes.
He now has a game that is big enough once again. What game are you playing? Is it big enough for you? It doesn’t have to be a million dollar game to get you excited. However, it does need to turn you on. Does it light you up when you think about it? If not, find one quick! You will discover an entirely unique access point to gain more energy, and enjoy what you do at a whole new level.
Safety Tip
When you look at a game that is big enough, you don’t need to just deal in bigger numbers. Qualitative goals count too. What kind of impact do you want to have on your customers?… or on your staff?… or with your family?
How do you want to grow personally? How about professionally? What is a level of depth you would like to gain in mastery over your skills and talents?
There are many dimensions to building a game that is big enough.
Find the ones that are right for you and you will have access to higher levels of energy, and you might catch yourself having fun too!
