Chapter 2: Channel Your Inner B.O.S.S.
" The secret of success is the consistency to pursue." -Harry F. Banks. Yes this journey is as much an exercise in introspection as it is survival and escape. As I referenced in the first chapter, many entrepreneurs are created by happenstance and others have a desire, an aching even to do something exceptional! This exception is often stifled by the structure and rules of large corporations. For many the only way to maximize this greatness is to build the blueprint. Many born entrepreneurs, for years, feel misplaced within their former professional lives. The freedom and longing to do something widely impactful represents a burning fire in the belly that must not lie dormant, but must be ignited! And despite this burn, the entrepreneurial journey will indeed require you to channel your inner B.O.S.S. - BAD ASS, Omnipotent, Soul-Sucking, Strength!!! While this statement does appear dramatized; it accurately explains the grit required to be successful. Entrepreneurship is very much a marathon as opposed to a sprint. If you expect instant success, your odds are better with the lottery. True success takes unwavering perseverance, dedication and the ability to commit oneself completely to fulfilling the mission. It is indeed a conquest! As you build your company, if you expect to get 8-hours of sleep each night…forget about! Be prepared to work your BAD ASS off. You will work 10 times harder than you ever have in your life. Your social life will be greatly compromised and you may lose friends (perhaps family) along the way. Entrepreneurs are often misunderstood, due to their laser focus on achieving their goals. This is often difficult for those avoid of this process to comprehend.
The entrepreneur lifestyle draws from your OMNIPOTENT power to achieve success. Most of your thoughts will be encompassed of strategies, tactics, milestones and achievement surrounding your business. You will often tap into your “FLOW” in an effort to maximize productivity and get things done. Wikipedia describes flow as the mental state of operation in which a person performing an activity is fully immersed in a feeling of energized focus, full involvement, and enjoyment in the process of the activity. Flow is characterized by complete absorption in what one does. Named by Mihály Csíkszentmihályi, flow is completely focused motivation. It is a single-minded immersion and represents perhaps the ultimate experience in harnessing the emotions in the service of performing and learning. In flow, the emotions are not just contained and channeled, but positive, energized, and aligned with the task at hand. Flow is real and not some residue of productivity mumble jumble. You will use it and it will catapult to greatness!
Psychology is described as the science of mind and behavior. With that, it is clear how psychology permeates through some of the most successful business strategies around. More than ever before, business schools are offering business classes that address psychology, as it is clear that business, its leadership and strategy are interconnected. Psychology, specifically behavioral psychology, is omnipresent within marketing strategy as it relates to the human behaviors and the knowledge therefore studied to gain and retain customers. Now, I’m not suggesting that you need to return to school to obtain a psychology degree, but you should have a basic knowledge of how psychology is utilized in business and how it informs your strategic initiatives, your leadership, and your response to customer needs and interactions.