The Most Powerful Resource Available To Entrepreneurs
Let's start with this counterintuitive human trait. We can be aroused and eventually climax without a partner. Some single men and women are doing it right now as you read this. The one guarantee they all have is that they can never conceive a child alone.
Sorry, this is not an article about masturbation; it's the point.
There are lots of things a man can do alone but to create something amazing we need each other. Doing some things alone goes against the natural laws of nature.
This is probably the rationale that instigated the author of the classic poem titled: "No man is an island” by John Donne - Poem Against Isolation. Allow me to share his words:
No man is an island,
Entire of itself,
Every man is a piece of the continent,
A part of the main.
If a clod be washed away by the sea,
Europe is the less.
As well as if a promontory were.
As well as if a manor of thy friend's
Or of thine own were:
Any man's death diminishes me,
Because I am involved in mankind,
And therefore never send to know for whom the
bell tolls;
It tolls for thee.
This is why this article started with this counterintuitive
proposition that we are individuals that cannot be separated from humanity. We are all human with this trait. We need each
other
As such, like the poem says; it does not matter if a lump of earth is washed into the European sea, nothing changes, and our connections are permanent, no man is an island.
Humans are spiritually locked by the ether in the universe, we are interdependent on each other. That is we rely on each other even when we do not care. Take, for example, the Russians demonstrating the destructive power of humans banded with a harmony of purpose.
So, you may ask, what about individuals who by themselves invented devices, developed formulas, or are natural innovators. Do they not demonstrate the power of the individual mind?
Without a doubt, individuals have the creative mind power to accomplish great feats, inventions, and innovations. However, the value of every creation is derived from the number of people it helps by making their lives easier and better. Your cell phone is an excellent example of our physical connection, we all know the importance of staying connected.
As John Donne proffered in his poem, we are all in the same boiling pot called the universe. We are connected but at the same time, we are so disconnected. We proudly claim free will, the power to choose, to decide for ourselves, to plan our destination; it is our individual choice.
Many of us never make a conscious choice, our life is devoted to what was set out before us. Get an education, get qualified to be employed at the highest salary. Education is the path out of poverty for many.
Many follow in their father’s footsteps because it is a family tradition; they join the police force, and the military, and become doctors, lawyers or accountants because it’s what daddy did. To all these people, that is a success.
The ambitious with entrepreneurial minds defy the status quo, they seek more than a salary or a title. They will gladly refuse employment, they vow to work for no man.
It seems to be in their genes because
at a tender age an entrepreneurial spirit is lit. The kids with the lemonade stand, the ones
who do the newspaper delivery, cut lawns, these activities are the molds of
future entrepreneurs.
Then there is the employee/entrepreneur with one foot on the job, and their eyes diligently seeking some other entrepreneurial opportunity. They seek employment because of the necessity of survival and view their jobs as stepping stones to their ultimate happiness.
Let us face it, personal self-development begins after graduating from a high school, or with undergraduate or graduate degrees. Academia engineers personal growth with structured curriculums determine the direction of your future.
Sadly, academic proficiency does not translate into
actual self-development. unless you become an employee because of your
qualifications. What we do after graduation determines the direction of our
careers and life.
Well-known options for personal growth after graduation includes; reading self-development books or industry periodicals, webinars/workshops/seminars, in-house and external training, online courses, video training, personal coaching, and mentoring.
Each of these self-development techniques works; if and when they are done consistently. For example, books have changed the lives of many and are directly responsible for the success of many avid readers. Or, a personal coach can redirect and guide you to succeed in a specific discipline.
These are all well-known techniques for self-development, however, in the last few years, professionals have been trending toward a classic technique that by itself is responsible for changing the lives of millions.
In 1937, Napoleon Hill introduced in his book, Think and Grow Rich, the Mastermind Group philosophy. Through painstaking research and interviews with the most successful men of the time, he discovered the power of the mastermind group philosophy.
Why is this concept so powerful?
Without the risk of controversy, every other self-development technique pales when compared to the benefits of Mastermind groups. Consider the following one-word benefits;
- Accountability
- Community
- Networks
- Focus
- Guidance
And those one-word benefits just scratches the surface. No other self-development technique provides this banquet of benefits that mastermind groups provide.
If you are unfamiliar with the mastermind group, this is the time to look into it. The biggest benefit is that once you understand the concept, i.e. not just reading about it but internalizing it; you can actually start your mastermind group.
