The Beyond Entrepreneur

Entrepreneurs are the rockstars on the stage of life. The entrepreneurial spirit is the human spirit expressed through our work. We have the calling, courage and bravery to make changes, and I have a monumental amount of respect for that. For me, I crave freedom for the brave. Here is one of my favorite concepts, entrepreneurial freedom, and pushing ourselves beyond!

Entrepreneurial Freedom

We do not have to do anything...ever! I believe this is true not just in entrepreneurship but in life. We have choices. Granted, there are consequences to our actions, but nevertheless, we choose them. I have worked with refugees from parts of the world where they still chose their thoughts and actions, even when their families were killed right in front of them. How powerful is that? We choose whether to eat, pay our bills, drink water, etc. Everything is a choice.

The Beyond Entrepreneur

I love this idea of reaching beyond habits, shoulds, turmoil, and goals. 

Beyond Habits

Personally, I am so bored with habits. I feel as if the habit conversations have been worn through the floor. Entrepreneurs created this great country, and we can certainly create change. We can change the narrative on habits. For me, I like the conversation on what do you want more of in your life? How do you get there in a way that is joyful, not forceful? 

Beyond Shoulds

I try very hard to avoid the word "should". I like the saying, "Please stop shoulding on yourself and others," and the anti-should revolution. I believe there is no right or wrong way to be an entrepreneur and grow your business. After all, innovations are made by those who think outside of the box and take their own path. I once had amazing venture capitalist from Europe who wanted to invest in my company. They were so excited until they found out that it was my first company. Ultimately, they turned me down because they had a rule that they only invested in entrepreneurs on their third company and had failed twice before. I believe that traditional corporate rules do not apply to entrepreneurs. 

Beyond Turmoil

When I think of turmoil, I think of internal turmoil. It is the day in and day out fighting with yourself and then feeling guilty. I believe that much of society is designed to make you feel guilty. If you have a routine in your life that is causing your turmoil, I feel there is probably an underlying cause. For instance, if you keep snoozing the alarm, maybe you need more sleep. If you want to exercise, but don't, maybe something is holding you back. For me, not fighting with myself is a deeper area of work.  

Beyond Goals 

Many of us, including myself, have been guilty of living for goals and forgetting to live for today. My favorite is example is retirement culture. This notion of working extremely hard and living for retirement. I believe the retirement culture is beginning to disappear, and there is a lot more of the concept, "This is life, right now, and it is perfect". 

How Do We Go Beyond in a Tangible Way? 

Everyone is different, and there is no right or wrong way to go about this. You have to do what works for you! I'm going to share how I put this into practice and remind myself that this is how I like to show up for myself and others. 

Awareness

I like to take a moment in my day and think about the things that make me grow and the things that hold me back. For me, it is not all black and white. The things that are black and white are easy. It is the gray areas that are more difficult to deal with. This is an awareness of where I am in life.

Acceptance

This is the stage where I acknowledge that I have arrived. This is it! As I mentioned earlier, I do believe in right or wrong. I believe there just is. For me, acceptance is this idea of "I am here. I see it. I'm not going to judge it". 

Adaptation

How do I work with what is? I believe there are some things we can't change. For instance, if I only want one arm or want to jump off a cliff without a parachute, there will be monumental negative consequences. This is the idea of how do I work within my realm of what is realistic. 

Architecture

I love this part! As entrepreneurs, we are already amazing, brilliant, and phenomenal. Each and every one of us. I like to ask myself, "How can I craft a world around me that works with who I already am"? I believe we are growth-minded and are always growing. It is not a one and done deal. For instance, maybe you need a coffee pot right next to you, a closed-door to your office, to turn off your notifications, or to say no to client work that makes you hate your job. What is it that will work for you and who you already are? 

Going Beyond

I love the notion of going beyond what society tells us we need to be and how we ought to operate. I truly believe there is no right or wrong answer, and we have to do what works for us and our personality and lifestyle!