The greatest epiphany that I ever had in my life was discovering the true meaning of responsibility.
I remember my mother always telling us kids about irresponsibility – especially if we left the door unlocked or forgot to switch off the heater. Of course we always got into trouble and the word ‘responsibility’meant anguish, pain and failure.
My epiphany came when I suddenly realized that taking responsibility was not about painor negativity.
In fact it was the complete opposite – it was an exciting concept of empowerment, a process of creating the things that I wanted in my life!
And what a joyous realization it was!
Nowhere is this idea more relevant than in the entrepreneurial space.
The buck stops with you. Your choices will determine your outcomes. It’s not about the economy or the government or the currency or even the competition.
Rather it’s everything about your ability to take responsibility, get creative and manifest the outcomes that you want.
What does this mean?
Here is a simple example.
It is not unusual to hear a CA say “I’m no good at sales”.
Yes, we all get that loud and clear.
But the appropriate response is to search for a great sales course and go and do it!
Learn the skill!
(I would normally suggest that you outsource what you are not good at but, in the opening stages of a start-up, this is the one aspect that you don’t outsource. Initially only you can communicate your vision and passion.)
Or….
The economic climate is looking decidedly dreary. So instead of buying into this gloomy outlook like everyone else, you can find a creative way of using the situation to take your business into a new growth phase.
Take the example is the collapsing R/$ exchange rate.
This could have devastating consequences for the economy but it also opens up great opportunities. Considering taking your business into foreign markets. This could be very lucrative. Your product just has to be so competitive because, currently, the Rand is seriously undervalued!
This is especially true for service-based industries. (If any of you have traveled to Europe lately you would know how ridiculously undervalued our currency is at the moment).
The entrepreneur cannot afford the luxury of saying “I can’t” – the more appropriate response is “How can I?”.
Don’t get me wrong. This is not about some frivolous positive thinking nonsense. Or The Secret.
This is about a single-purpose determination to find a way to make it work.
And it is this attitude that will put you on the pathway to success.
Everything else is just commentary!