Highlight a failure from your past - How might your past failures help you as an entrepreneur?
During my first couple years in college, the biggest adjustment I had to make was time management. During high school, time basically managed itself. Go to school from 8:30 - 3:30, get home about 4. Do my homework, or go to my piano lessons if it was Thursday. Eat dinner. Do any more homework or practice some more piano.
In college, suddenly classes were sprawled out throughout the day. I had mandatory concerts to either be in, rehearse for, or attend. I had seminars I needed to go to, committees to keep up with (I lived at the residential college at the time), and plenty of other things to do, to. Suddenly I had to fit everything in, including time for eating and studying, and my schedule changed frequently. Over that first year and a half or so of college, I made promises to friends and my girlfriend that I ended up not being able to keep, all simply because I was not keeping a calendar, a very simple task that hadn't really been a part of my life before.
I started keeping a detailed calendar, filling in all the required events I had to attend as soon as I got the syllabus. It changed my life. I was able to feel 'grown-up' by saying, "let me check my calendar"...and I actually had one. I was able to keep appointments and decrease my stress level by a LOT. I was able to feel kind of like a businessman. It was a great feeling.
I've worked for hire with individuals wanting to work on video and music projects, and have been able to immediately let them know what days I can meet and follow up with them. I think these skills as an entrepreneur are absolutely vital. I don't think there's anyway your entrepreneurial venture can succeed without keeping your calendar up to date and organized. It was such a simple thing, and it really made the difference between failure and success.
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This is a really great example.
ReplyDeleteI cannot really relate to it because I've always kept a calendar.
It's just something I have to do to keep myself sane, plus I'm generally rather organized anyway.
When I was in sixth grade, I decided I wanted to start playing soccer. A lot of my friends had started when they were a lot younger. I went to my first day of practice and got really frustrated because the coach kept yelling different positions for us to go to on the field and I had no idea what she was talking about, but everyone else did. I felt lost. I quit after the first practice. I'm not usually much of a quitter. I swam for eight years and danced for seven. I think the lesson I can take from this into an entrepreneurial world would be to experiment with different things, and to stick with new things long enough to determine whether or not I truly dis/like it. But, also, to stay committed to the things I know I excel in.