Stumbling Block....or Stepping Stone

Isn't it strange that princes and kings
and clowns that caper in sawdust rings
and common folks like you and me...
are builders of eternity?

To each is given a bag of tools,
a shapeless mass and a book of rules;
and each must make, ere life is flown
...a stumbling block or a stepping stone.

SO? Which will it be?

What is "Real Entrepreneuring"?

I give an introductory talk to my coaching clients that I titled: “You are either an Entrepreneur…or you are a vegetable”. This is my way of introducing my contention that everybody is an entrepreneur. What I want to do in this post is to explain the title for this blog…and, acordingly, my purpose in creating it.

I realize, however, that for you to accept anything I say here, now or in the future, I have to first convince you to agree with me when I say that EVERYBODY IS AN ENTREPRENEUR, whether they know it or not.

So…here’s what I want to do:
1. Give you MY definition of an “Entrepreneur”
2. Prove to you that everybody IS an entrepreneur
3. Discuss why we can’t avoid making decisions (i.e. why we’re not vegetables).
4. Explain what “real entrepreneuring” is all about so you will understand my purpose and my philosophy (i.e. “Life According to Bob the TourGuide”)…and why, therefore, I call this blog “Real Entrepreneuring”.

1. What is MY definition of an “Entrepreneur”?

A famous American politician (who will remain nameless because he is still around and I don’t need any trouble with him) was discussing the economic structure of France. He was quoted as saying that the French don’t even have a word for “entrepreneur”. How funny is THAT? “Entrepreneur” is clearly a word with a French root that literally means “one who undertakes”. The term expanded and evolved over time and use and has now come to refer to anyone who undertakes to operate an enterprise involving elements of independence, risk, and the opportunity for profit or reward. Let me repeat that….no, wait….why don’t you just read it again. This is my definition of an “entrepreneur”.

2. Everybody is an “Entrepreneur”.

What most commonly comes to mind when we say “enterprise” is a “business”. If this were the only definition of “enterprise”, it would greatly narrow our topic. But I choose to expand its meaning. What if the “enterprise” we are referring to is not a “business”. What if it refers to any “organization”. What if, in fact, the “organization” it refers to is YOUR LIFE…and “operating the enterprise” for our purposes means “Taking charge of your life”. You are an “entrepreneur” simply because your existence necessarily involves your operation of your life and involves elements of independence, risks and consequences, and opportunities for profit and reward. Thus…you and everybody else…are entrepreneurs.

(Enough said about this right now. We'll expand this concept as we proceed.)

3. Why we can’t avoid making decisions.

With the exceptions of bodily activities such as breathing and the working of internal organs, every other action of our waking moments is comprised of making decisions.

Let’s review a few of today’s decisions:
1. You decided to get out of bed.
2. You decided to get dressed.
3. You decided to read the paper.
4. You decided to go to work.

OR….YOU DECIDED NOT TO DO ANY OF THOSE THINGS…AND YOU WENT BACK TO SLEEP.

Some decisions are major, some are minor…but they all are choices….and they all have consequences:
1. we marry or we don’t
2. we have children or we don’t
3. we decide where to live, where to work, what work to do, whether to work for ourselves or for others
4. we decide what car to drive, or whether to drive at all.
5. we stand in the street and get hit by a truck, or we decide to jump out of the way

And…here is the REALLY scary part. What do you think is the opposite of “making a decision”? Did you think it was “NOT making a decision”? Think about that for a moment. Isn’t NOT making a decision actually making a decision? In other words, it’s a trick question. There IS no opposite of making a decision. Not making a decision IS A DECISION. That IS scary, isn’t it?

So…we now see that we are all entrepreneurs, the enterprise we have undertaken to operate is our life, and we all make decisions which have consequences. Are you with me so far?

4. What is “Real Entrepreneuring”?

We come now to the title of this post and the title of this blog and the heart of my philosophy….LIFE ACCORDING TO BOB THE TOURGUIDE.

“REAL ENTREPRENEURING” is the living of our life. It includes every element, without exception, of our individual, personal journey through life…every discovery, every accomplishment, every obstacle, every decision, every consequence. It includes how we respond and how we react to that over which we have control and that over which we have no control.

As a Life Coach (and TourGuide and MapMaker…concepts I will explain in later posts), I serve as a guide to my clients. I don’t have the answers. That is not my role. But, together, we explore options and together we find our answers. And that will be my purpose here. I will tell you stories, many autobiographical, that will illustrate obstacles encountered, decisions made, consequences resulting, actions taken…and lessons learned.

My goals are:
1. to introduce you to new thinking about taking charge of your life
2. to provide tools for your consideration and use
3. to be a starting point for you as you continue on your life path from the place you were when first we met.

I WANT YOU TO TAKE CHARGE OF YOUR LIFE BECAUSE YOU OWE IT TO YOUR DREAMS!!

I hope you enjoy the ride,

Bob the TourGuide

More Poetry to Set the Stage

I include these two poems in all my coaching and speaking sessions. They represent the extremes surrounding Frost's "The Road Not Taken" that I posted earlier. The authors of both are unknown. If someone knows who penned them, please let me know. (I made up the titles.)

The Road NOT Attempted

"There once was a very cautious man,
Who never laughed or cried.
He never cared, he never dared,
He never dreamed or tried.
And when one day he passed away,
His insurance was denied.
For since he never really lived,
They claimed he never died."

The Road REALLY Appreciated

"Life is not a journey to the grave
with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body,
But rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out,
and loudly proclaiming....'WOW...WHAT A RIDE!'"

Do you see the difference? Life is meant to be lived. Life is a singular event in your existence. Life is not separable. We can't, for example, talk about "living" VERSUS "working". The opposite of "living" is NOT "working". The opposite of "living" is "NOT LIVING".

This message of the singularity of Life will be central to my coaching messages.

Stay with me.

Bob the TourGuide

Leaders and Lemmings

The great American poet, Robert Frost, penned a mighty tome about how our life course is impacted by the life "path" we choose. It has been viewed and interpreted on many levels, but, to me, it is the tale of one who reached out and dared.

In any case….I choose to share it with you as my opening “salvo”. Here it is:

The Road Not Taken

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth.

Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same.

And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I--
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.

Great, huh? What do you think? Do you see how it separates the followers from the risk takers? We’ll expand on this as we move ahead.

Bob the TourGuide