The 12 Steps (Advice) to Entrepreneurial Success: Understanding Yourself

By Dr Paul E Adams | November 30, 2001

Step 1. Understanding Yourself- Do You Know Who You Are?

"No one is rich or poor who has not helped himself to be so." - German Proverb

Do you wonder why there are those charmed individuals that the gods seem to favour–what is it they have that others don't? Is it some mystical charm, the right fortune cookie, or something more down to earth such as knowing who they are and what they want out of life?

Here is a clue to your future success as an entrepreneur-can you predict how you are going to react to stress or success? Most successful people can. Psychologists are quick to tell us that before you can accomplish your goals you must have some understanding of who you are –your strengths, your limitations, and your ability to apply yourself to get what you want from life.

Whatever you dream of doing, remember you will bring your personality to your adventure. Your habits, your views on life, and your attitude are the luggage you will carry with you. Before starting out-take some time and find out who you are.

Let me tell you about Roger, who after losing his job, borrowed from his parents to start a business. A year later, the sheriff padlocked the front door. As Roger came to understand later his motivation to start a business was an emotional need to prove his employer wrong, not the challenges and freedom of self-employment.

Before you can get the world to respond to your wants, you must discover what turns you on. Are you focused or do you meander through life hoping for a miracle to bring you riches and fame? Are you in the audience or on the stage? Do you lead or follow? Do you want betterment or comfort? A successful life can be yours once you define your desires and drive.

Starting and managing a business is not easy. It is full of challenges and problems, and it is how you will react and cope with disappointment, frustration, and the emotions of success that will determine your success or failure. Before you undertake a pile of problems, you should be aware of your coping skills. Don't wait until you have the problem before finding out if you have the talents to solve it.

To understand yourself is to know how you will behave and react to situations, pleasant and unpleasant. For example, I thought I could easily handle change, but after a number of instances, I found just the opposite. I have learned that the successful outcome of my problems depends on my ability to cope.

Your success will follow your actions, the right actions-if you understand yourself, and you will have an inner sense on how to react to challenges and rewards. Test yourself, How do you relate to the following questions?

Do you understand your motives for your actions-or do you just act on impulse? Impulsive action in business can lead to failure.
Do you want something because others have it or are your wants based on reality and real need? Envy is not good business sense or rational behavior.
Do you know what leadership is or do you have some romantic notion of leading the charge?
Can you accept disagreement or does it escalate to an argument to prove you are right. Not a good sign of management skills.
Can you stand confrontation or do you say yes when you really mean no? Success in business means saying no when the demand is not in your best interest.
Do you need the glory of success to feed your ego? If so, your insecurities are showing.
Can you share or do you need all the marbles to feel important. Teamwork builds a successful business not monarchy.
Can you make decisions or are you afraid of making a mistake? Fear causes procrastination and can lead to failure.
Do you follow through or just assume “it“ will happen? The lack of follow up is typical of poor performance.
Do you give up too soon-if you do you may miss out.
Do you look for shortcuts to success, putting effort and honesty aside? There are few shortcuts to long-term success only eventual failure.

Do any of the these questions touch home? If so, you have your first assignment.

Getting what you want in life is knowing why you do the things you do. What drives us to accomplishment or self destruction- when we uncover these hidden forces of our personality we have taken the first step to an adventure in success. You will find that self-examination is a lot less painful than failure. My next installment is about “a sense of urgency” or getting things done.