Being an entrepreneur is trendy right now. It's a title everyone wants attached to their name. Years of watching parents and loved one's give their all to a corporation and having nothing to show for it has dramatically impacted millennials and younger generations. Now more than ever, you hear battle cries for financial independence and setting up multiple income streams. You see it all over Twitter, Instagram, and other social media platforms, but what does it mean? Being an entrepreneur is more than owning an LLC or posting inspirational quotes on your social media platforms. In the same way, if I placed you in a garage, it would not make you a car; owning a business does not make you an entrepreneur.
The word entrepreneur comes from the 13th-century French verb entreprendre, meaning to do something or to undertake. I highlighted the 13th-century French verb entreprendre and not the modern definition of an entrepreneur for a reason. Not everyone aspires to be in Silicon Valley building the next big billion-dollar startup, but we all have dreams. Sadly, some have lost and forgotten their goals through a lack of self-belief and discouragement from those around them.
"The graveyard is the richest place on earth because it is here that you will find all the hopes and dreams that were never fulfilled, the books that were never written, the songs that were never sung, the inventions that were never shared, the cures that were never discovered, all because someone was too afraid to take that first step, keep with the problem, or determined to carry out their dream."
-Les Brown
These dreams can be creating an innovative idea to progress equality or a more effective curriculum to teach the children of America. We all have unique dreams and goals inside us, but we often drown out the progressive voice in our heads with rational lies. We will usually rationalize why we can not do something, why now is not a good time to start, why our goal is unrealistic. Still, these are just excuses for the truth. Most of the time, people are scared to fail or scared of what other people might say. To achieve your vision, you do not need to be perfect; you just need to take the first step and be ready to undertake a new endeavor without quitting.
The core of an entrepreneurial mindset is the will to do and undertake something on your own. Entrepreneurs need the courage not only to start but to finish what they have started. We often see in our society today that the stickability factor is missing. If you checked up on people every six months, they would be beginning a whole new project from the last time you spoke to them. I believe the reason people start and stop ventures is because of inadequate information and fake success gurus. If you scroll through your timeline, you will often see ads promoting "getting rich quick" or "how to attract money instantly." Anything that spreads these messages is misleading and portrays a false narrative. These false narratives cause people to believe that something is wrong with them if they do not succeed quickly in a new endeavor.
The truth is, accomplishing anything is hard. The process of accomplishment requires sustained work over long periods. The process includes not just working on your vision but yourself as well. The thinking that creates your problem is not the same thinking that will solve them. Now I do not think it is good to get hung up on your faults and weaknesses; I believe this is unproductive. What is more important is discovering who you need to be to accomplish your goals and deciding to be that person. Nothing worth achieving is easy; simple tasks such as walking require years of practice before perfection. Many of the things we do now, such as reading, walking, and talking, were not easy to learn. Through daily practice week after week, month after month, we start hitting these notable milestones as we grow older in years.
Helping others understand the process of accomplishment is why I sat down with Khiry Hughes for an interview. I wanted him to show how the actual process of entrepreneurship looked. We all can extract value from his story even if we do not plan on owning our own business one day. The skills needed to be an entrepreneur are the same skill sets that will help you accomplish your goals and dreams. No matter what that dream will be, it will require more of you and a certain mindset to overcome the difficulties. Through this interview, you will better understand what that mindset is and how the true entrepreneurship journey looks.
Full Interview Audio: https://anchor.fm/asante-dyer/episodes/Conversations-With-Lo-Khiry-Hughes-The-Prince-of-Miami-ertg49
Khiry's Entrepreneurial Journey YouTube Link: https://youtu.be/MFTJBKyUouo
Khiry’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/global__khi
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