50 Interviews: Entrepreneurs thriving in uncertain times

The 5 distinctions of successful entrepreneurs
Brian Schwartz • www.50interviews.com
brian@50interviews.com• 970-215-1078

Praise for 50 EntrepreneursBuy the book at Amazon.com
"Very few books these days combine short vignettes with powerful direct impacts that can be used immediately. The ROI for 50 Interviews is two minutes tops. Brian’s formulaic approach enables the reader to extract the collective insight and experience of 50 divergent entrepreneurs. His dialogue throughout the book allows us to vicariously ask the questions we would have wanted to ask any successful entrepreneur and learn succinctly what worked for them."
-Michael R. Webb, Co-Founder, Aubice LLC
“I wish I had a copy of 50 interviews when I launched my first company, I would have covered much more ground a whole lot faster."
-Mike Michalowicz, Author of The Toilet Paper Entrepreneur
*Also available as an iPhone/ iPod Touch app in the iTunes store
(search for 50 Interviews in the apps category)

Discover a consuming passion
The more you share, the more powerful it becomes.
It’s worth more to you than a million bucks.
You’d be doing it whether or not you were getting paid to do it.
When you are doing it, you lose track of time. Q: Do you know what day of the week it is?
It feels like an addiction (you truly miss it when it’s not there).
You wake up early to do it before anything else and it gives you energy, it doesn’t drain you.

Pursue an impersonal goal
It’s not about you.
You are serving a purpose greater than yourself.
Teachers and pastors are great examples.
It gives you the strength to overcome adversity.
It’s definitely not about the money.

Learn to embrace risk
Risk = opportunity for something better!
Risk = reward. (victory is especially sweet when you’ve had to overcome great obstacles)
Risk = new possibilities.
Risk = a chance to grow.
Here’s the secret: You must be willing to first accept the worst possible outcome and you must maintain faith that the right outcome will occur, no matter what.

Emulate to learn, innovate to earn
Emulating is a great way to get onto the field, but all great accomplishment in the world has stemmed from someone doing something different. Eventually, you need to blaze your own trail and innovate to find success.
It’s the uncommon answer to the common problem (Michael Gerber).
When you really get this, it is much easier to ‘give it away.’

Develop an ability to shift perspective
Success relies on maintaining a positive outlook, especially when times are particularly tough.
The secret to maintaining a positive outlook is in the ability to shift your perspective.
When faced with a new challenge or setback, successful entrepreneurs look at the event from a new perspective.
Take personal responsibility for all out outcomes (good & bad).

Adopt an entrepreneur mindset
Uncover a consuming passion. The more you share, the stronger it becomes. Similar to an addiction, they can’t turn it off and it rarely feels like work.
Define an impersonal goal. You have discovered a purpose greater than yourself. You do it despite the money. It’s more about the impact on other people than on you.
Learn to Embrace Risk. Entrepreneurs see risk as dashing into the future with hope and the possibility to move closer towards their impersonal goal. Many have shared that once they accept the worst possible outcome, they feel empowered to take action.
Emulate to Learn, Innovate to Earn. Emulating is a great way to get onto the field, but all great accomplishment in the world has stemmed from someone doing something different. Eventually, you need to blaze your own trail and innovate to find success.
Develop an ability to shift perspective. You will no doubt face many challenges and set backs along the way. The key to not letting those setbacks impact you lies in your ability to shift your perspective and see the circumstances from a different light. Faith is at the root of one’s ability to shift perspective. A Faith comes from overcoming earlier setbacks, knowing that in the end, everything works itself out, one way or another!

3 keys to finding fulfilling work
When you uncover your true passion, it doesn’t feel like work. When you find a purpose greater than yourself, you find the key to overcoming the fear to risk it all!

Are entrepreneurs born or made?
Where do your decisions come from?
Are your beliefs still serving you?
How do you adopt new beliefs?
Change the people you surround yourself with.
Change your environment.
Consider the source of your beliefs.

The power of perspective
Often two sides of the same coin, example:
I quit my job – celebration & possibility!
I lost my job – despair & scarcity
The result is the same = no job!
The same experience can be viewed as a setback or an opportunity.
Successful entrepreneurs know from experience a silver lining will usually appear from what might first appear as a ‘setback.’

Believe in your vision
Mike Jensen, Fort Collins Real Estate / Keller Williams
Startup costs: *$0
*(actually -28,000)
Business Plan? Yes.
“Find the win-win.”

Find a greater purpose
Michael Gerber, E-Myth Worldwide
Startup costs: $25,000
Business Plan? No
“It isn’t what you know, but what you are determined to do that makes the difference. Knowing actually gets in the way.”

Love your work
Jim Mofhitz – Humorous Clocks, Wellington
Startup costs: $1200
Business Plan? No.
“Follow your passion and everything else will work out”

Follow your calling
Donna Visocky, Bella Spark Productions & Healing Path Magazine, Fort Collins, CO.
Business Plan? No.
“She wasn’t afraid to think big.”

Take a bold leap
Doug Odell, Odell Brewing Company Fort Collins
Business Plan? Yes
“If you have a dream, take a chance on it!”

It’s not about the money
Jake Jabs, American Furniture Warehouse
Business Plan? No
“If you like what you are doing, you may never have to work another day in your life.”

Overcome adversity
John Comeau, Horsetooth Hot Sauce, Fort Collins
Business Plan? Yes
“Try as much as you can, no matter how much you fail.”

Stay Grounded
Kim Jordan, New Belgium Brewing Company, Fort Collins
Business Plan? No
“Let your life speak”

The power of perspective
Bob Parsons, GoDaddy
Scottsdale, AZ.
Startup costs: $32mil
Business Plan? No
“We’re not here for a long time. We’re here for a good time.”

Ideas to action
If you are not where you want to be, surround yourself with those who are.
The right questions will reveal new answers from within yourself. Be an aggressive seeker of truth.
Discover a purpose greater than yourself.
Share your passion with others.
Ask yourself regularly if you are still surrounding yourself with the right people.

Ignite the entrepreneur within!50 Entrepreneurs

FUEL YOUR PASSION!
50 Interviews is a compilation of collective wisdom that provides timely insight, inspiration, and best practices derived directly from those who have already succeeded.
Authors create a Self-Directed Education- surrounding themselves with those they admire, gain clarity of purpose, adopt critical beliefs, and build a network of peers to ensure success in that endeavor.
www.50interviews.com

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50 Interviews: Entrepreneurs thriving in uncertain times

by Brian Schwartz on Apr 15, 2010

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