Over the last week there has been a bit of news about the Twitter "hostile takeover" launched by Elon Musk, that I suspect is very unlikely to be successful given a number of factors. But a couple of reports piqued my interest regarding this, which was Twitter staff having to "help each other through the week" at the stress brought on by the 9% share buy, not even the takeover bid. I think it is safe to say...
These people are Millenials or younger.
I think it is also safe to say that people who are so easily stressed likely aren't going to make it too far in the world of business, especially the fast-paced tech industry where disruption is the name of the game. It is like playing in the NFL, but being unable to take a hit.
When I was talking to my wife's nephew the other day in regards to his aspirations to be an entrepreneur, I asked if he had the mindset for it. For the most part, an entrepreneur is willing to do what others are not for a handful of years at least, but in my experience with many young ones over the last decade or so, they all fall down in the one area at least.
They care more about the idea of being an entrepreneur, than the execution. And as a result, money tends to go out as fast as it comes in, which would be fine, but a Gucci shirt isn't an investment. They are so shortsighted in their approach that they never get a foundation built, as they start "living off it" and their tastes are far more expensive than a bowl of ramen. Instead of building up their business, they start acting as if it is already in the position that it is providing for all their needs and their desires.
Having a business card made that says CEO on it when you are running a sole proprietorship doesn't make you a CEO, it makes you naïve. Getting a group of friends together who are more interested in headshots than developing a product and service and the processes that enable them provides a pretty good indicator that it isn't going to succeed.
Many will say that "at least they are trying" but I don't see that they are, as they aren't doing close to what it takes to accomplish what they are trying for. It is like me buying a surfboard and filling out a form to enter into the Pro Tour, and when I am rejected for being a nobody and holding no skill, I believe that I "gave it a shot" and my lack of success has nothing to do with me.
There is a dishonesty in this approach to "attempt" and it isn't doing anyone any favors to keep rewarding participation with praise, when the participant isn't really putting in anywhere near the effort required for success.
Insincerity in the attempt is what it is, as there isn't the intensity to actually do the work, but the desire for the result from the work still burns bright. But, what I think a lot of these people should understand that the result is very rarely the goal of the entrepreneur, it is the passion for what they are doing that drives them and because of that focus, they are able to continue through the difficult times, to give up on the luxuries, to keep pushing any output they get from the company, back into the company to make it stronger.
I don't have what it takes
I know this. I have a business and I am technically an entrepreneur and have been for a decade, but I don't have the drive in myself to do what it takes to build my business. I am content for it to provide a moderate income for me, but will not do the work for it ever to make me wealthy. It isn't the work level I am unwilling to do, but the type of work I would have to do to build the business.
At least now.
Perhaps a few years back I could have made more of a shift, but I soon realized that my passion wasn't the business side of things, it was the training side alone and, that doesn't scale. In order to build scalability, I would have had to set up a whole range of other functions and bring more people into the mix and, I just wasn't willing.
This is failure.
Not complete failure, but failure as an entrepreneur and in the eyes of many, shows a lack of drive, which is both true and untrue. I don't have the drive to build, I do have the drive to work. This translates into me working very hard in one area, but doing the bare minimum in regards to keeping my business running. Recognizing this in myself freed me from a life of torture, as instead of trying for what I have no aptitude for, I can live off what I enjoy and can do well.
But the money!!
Yeah, I don't make nearly as much as someone who has the drive to build their business endlessly, but luckily for me, I am also not incompetent or inexperienced in many other areas either, which makes me employable as well as capable to earn in other ways, outside of my business.
But, how many people are really cut-out for entrepreneurship these days? I would say that it is only a fraction of society and once all of the mindset hurdles and bad habits are applied, the likelihood of any one of them succeeding is going to be very small indeed. This doesn't mean that those who want shouldn't try of course, but they should also go in with their eyes wide enough open that they can see whether they are the type of person who is capable to do what others are not, for long enough for it to count.
I wonder if this world we have created where people are constantly pushing their ideals of themselves into the crowd believing it matters, has not only made how we represent ourselves dishonest, but reinforces the view in a way that we no longer recognize that we are also lying to ourselves. But hey, that is what the internet is for - to help each other through the hard times of self-reflection, by making sure that we are always distracted and never have to look in the mirror.
The stress of it all.
Taraz
[ Gen1: Hive ]
