It is a question that is as old as is human existence… What is my purpose?
Some people go through life never actually answering that question and in all honesty, that saddens me. Because I believe every human being has a purpose and true success will come when we are able to answer that question.
So as an entrepreneur, have you discovered your purpose?
Before you answer that question, please hear, I mean read, me out.
There are a lot of “would-be” entrepreneurs who will say their life purpose is to get rich. The first question I would ask that person is, “Is that all your purpose is?” Because I am of the opinion that riches would just be a by-product of the true reason for any entrepreneur’s purpose in life.
My purpose of life philosophy.
I have looked deep into the lives of successful entrepreneurs, and I would say that the majority of them did not have money and riches as their primary goal. Their purpose goes so much more deeper than riches, as money is just a tool in their objective to fulfill their life purpose.
As a matter of fact, many people who make their life purpose money and riches end up failing miserably. There is nothing wrong with desiring money and material items but I believe we all need to find a purpose that is even more meaningful. And in doing so, the money will come as a by product.
Why I am explaining this to new entrepreneurs
Some of you may be wondering why Eric is going into this philosophical tirade in this post.
“Has he been studying the Dalai Lama or reading the works of Confucious? Or maybe he has read papers by David Hume on Logical Positivism.”
While all these are interesting, I am writing this to help you.
Let me explain why…
The life and times of the common entrepreneur
Very few entrepreneurs have financial success immediately. If money and riches are the purpose of the new entrepreneur, there is a good chance that there will be an immediate letdown and the odds of quitting are immense.
I compare new entrepreneurs with struggling musicians.
The musician practices and plays shows for spare change in many cases spending more for the gasoline to get their equipment to the show. But, the struggling musician has a “need” to play music no matter if they make money or not.
As an entrepreneur, we will have struggles and failures as we test various methods to brand, market and grow. And, if our purpose is strictly money, depression is likely to overtake us. But, if we have another purpose or purposes, we can laugh at the failures and realize they are helping us grow and learn.
We see it in network marketing all the time; a “would-be” entrepreneur joins a MLM company, starts their own business, and expects to start making profits immediately. When the profits do not arrive, they quit.
Their purpose was only money!
Life purposes of successful entrepreneurs
When I research various successful entrepreneurs, I have discovered a wide range of what they say is their life purposes.
Let’s look at some of them:
Freedom
This is a top purpose when asking entrepreneurs. The freedom to decide just how the business will be managed. Freedom to work the hours the entrepreneur desires to work.
Entrepreneurs love having the freedom to make the calls instead of being the one who has to follow the calls whether they agree or disagree with them.
To solve problems
This purpose is high on my list of purpose in what I do. If it wasn’t, I would not even write this blog. There is nothing more meaningful then seeing a person who has a problem and having the means to solve that problem for them. A by product of solving the problems of others is money.
To have a quality family life
Working a 9 to 5 job has led to children saying that their Dad or Mom was never there. It has been a factor in divorces.
Entrepreneurs have the ability to attend special activities their children are in, and to spend quality time with their spouse.
While much of the entrepreneur’s work is done from home, they are there when needed.
To change the world
If we look back in history, the people who have made the biggest changes in the world were entrepreneurs.
- Henry Ford
- Steve Jobs
- Mark Zuckerberg
- Elon Musk
- Larry Page and Sergey Brin
- Marie Curie
- and many more
Did these entrepreneurs know they would change the world? I believe that was their goal and it is also my goal to change the world too.
Improving people’s lives
Here is my key purpose and I challenge you to make it yours. If we can just improve the lives of people even slightly and many entrepreneurs are doing the same, entrepreneurs will create Utopia.
Define your purpose
If your purpose of entrepreneurship has been money, I suggest you rethink that purpose.
We as experienced and successful entrepreneurs have discovered that by living our lives geared toward a meaningful purpose, the money and riches do come. It just seems to be a natural law.
I took a look at how various entrepreneurs have found and defined their life purpose:
They look at their past: The entrepreneur reviews their past successes, failures, education and experience to determine what their purpose truly is.
They consider the mentors placed in their life: All throughout our lives we have had mentors. Some have been willing mentors while others were just their by accident. We look at those mentorships, because they have shaped us in ways we can use in our entrepreneurship journey.
And, they prepare, plan, practice and DO! The entrepreneur knows that preparing and planning is important. But doing is the most important. There will be pain and struggles as we find the system that works best. And through this, the satisfaction is wonderful.
The questions to ask yourself
Answer these questions and you will be finding your purpose as an entrepreneur:
- What things do I love most in the world?
- What are my talents; what am I good at?
- And, what does the human population need, and what problems can I solve?
Lastly
I know that if new entrepreneurs deeply search for their purpose of going the route they are traveling, the odds of success will jump substantially. When we strive along blind to the purpose or we are in it just for the money, the odds of complete and total failure are huge.
Yes, there is the chance that on your entrepreneur journey, you will be successful immediately, but it is better to plan for the worst and hope for the best than vice versa.
Remember that every failure is actually beneficial because you learn and grow from it… Consider it educational.
Through much testing and trying, I have learned a great method to turn website visitors into customers, and I want to share that method with all the entrepreneurs reading this.
I am offering an 8 point checklist to create a CRAZY profitable website. And it is FREE! Just click here.
Please do me a favor, share this post with your friends and family so they can also find their purpose.
Thank you.
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