"The miracle, or the power, that elevates the few is to be found in their industry, application, and perseverance under the prompting of a brave, determined spirit."
Mark Twain
This quote from my good buddy, Mark Twain, includes a word that is not commonly used by people describing entrepreneurs. Brave. That's a powerful word. Brave.
The word risk gets thrown around a lot in entrepreneurship circles, as in risk-taker and risk-reward. And we often see perseverance, determination, and energy. As I think about it right now, risk doesn't sound very scary, though. It sounds too matter-of-fact to hit me in the gut, too clinical. But quitting a steady job, spending your savings, and investing your life-time is actually just, plain scary. To do all that in order to build a new life through a new business is a serious act of bravery.
Old Mark had more to say on this topic. "Courage," he said, "is resistance to fear, mastery of fear - not absence of fear. Except a creature be part coward it is not a compliment to say it is brave."
So I think we'd better add courage, or bravery, to the list of words we use to describe entrepreneurial MOXIE. So now it's energy, pep, determination, perseverance, and courage. Courage. Bravery.
That's why so few of us try it, I guess.
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