Name: Crazy is a Compliment
Rating: 4.4 (14 reviews)
Author: Linda Rottenberg

Introduction

What’s in it for me? Learn how to minimize risk as an entrepreneur and achieve your dreams.

We all dream. Your dream might revolve around one day starting your own company, to finally achieve true independence and importantly, the freedom to pursue something you’re truly passionate about.

So what’s stopping you?

In short: it’s scary. The risk of leaving a cushy job to take on something completely new can seem daunting. In fact, you could say you need to be a little bit crazy to take the leap.

These blinks can help you smooth the road and minimize the risks in realizing your dream. You’ll gain wisdom collected from hundreds of others like you who have made this leap. You can then put this advice to good use in your venture, whether you’re still in the planning stages or well on your way to world domination!

In the following blinks, you’ll also discover:

how Starbucks raised its stock price tenfold by closing all its stores;
how running an under-four-minute mile went from impossible to easy in a few months; and
which entrepreneurial type you are: a Steve Jobs, a Bill Gates or a Martha Stewart.

Key idea 1 of 8

To do the impossible, you can’t listen to your friends or family.

When facing important life decisions, most people eagerly consult their friends, family or partners for their opinions. But in fact, this could be a big mistake.

Why?

Because you need to get rid of so-called psychological limiters: the beliefs that say you are incapable of reaching your goals. These limiters arise from a basic fear of everything that’s unknown and uncertain. Your family and friends can actually exacerbate these limiters.

For example, if you’re a bit doubtful about quitting your job and starting your own company, and then talk to your parents about it, they may be horrified as they’ve been accustomed to holding down the same 9-to-5 job for 50 years. Their attitude will naturally discourage you.

So what can you do to overcome psychological limiters?

For one, you need to understand that the only reason you’re facing negativity is because you’re pushing the limits of what’s thought to be possible. This is much more difficult than staying in the realm of what’s already been done.

Before 1954, everyone thought that running a mile in under four minutes was physically impossible for the human body. But then, after Roger Bannister accomplished this “impossible” feat, 16 others accomplished it too in the following three years.

A second option in avoiding psychological limiters is simply not sharing your ideas with family and friends. Your ideas are fragile when in their infancy, and you can be thus easily discouraged by negative feedback.

And somewhat counterintuitively, the people you trust the most can be the least trustworthy when evaluating your ideas. This is because their responses are by nature emotional: people may offer negative feedback because they secretly hate you, or because they’re worried about the consequences of you pursuing your idea.

Or they might applaud you, just to give you an ego boost: “Oh wow, a hotel for pet iguanas is the best idea I’ve ever heard!”

Both of these approaches are harmful, because they give you a warped view of the quality of your idea.

Key idea 2 of 8

Don’t crash and burn too soon; taking small, incremental risks helps protect your early business.

Everyone knows that starting your own company is risky. Thankfully though, it’s possible to minimize your risk level so you’re not left completely vulnerable.

How?

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Key idea 3 of 8

Learn to deal with chaos! Chaos brings opportunities, yet stay true to your core principles.

When you start your own business, you can be sure that things will get chaotic – this is unavoidable. But to be successful, you must learn to deal with chaos.

One key component is getting creative. When things get chaotic and you feel frustrated, try to see opportunities around you: chaos can often lead to great chances for improvement.

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Key idea 4 of 8

Learn from great entrepreneurs who share your entrepreneurial personality type.

Just as people have different personalities, so too do entrepreneurs. There are several different entrepreneurial personalities, each with their own strengths and weaknesses.

Let’s examine the four basic ones.

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Key idea 5 of 8

For your company to thrive, you need to continuously innovate and improve.

So you’ve just launched your company and you run into an issue you don’t know how to deal with. Now what?

Based on research of common issues entrepreneurs face, the author and her team compiled a list of advice that can help address the most-likely obstacles you’ll encounter as a new entrepreneur.

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Key idea 6 of 8

Entrepreneurs must develop their leadership skills, yet they need good mentors to do so.

Many entrepreneurs make the mistake of thinking that once a business is off the ground, leading the day-to-day operations will be a walk in the park.

In fact, nothing could be further from the truth. To run a business well, you need to be an effective leader, which is a skill most entrepreneurs initially lack.

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Key idea 7 of 8

Work to instill an entrepreneurial instinct in your employees as well.

As you’ve seen, leadership is a crucial element in the success of your company.

But it’s not enough. For your organization to function well, you need to create an environment that also makes your staff feel a sense of employeeship: an entrepreneurial instinct of their own that drives them to constantly improve and innovate.

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Key idea 8 of 8

In the choice between a career and family, choose both!

These days, there’s a lot of discussion around the concept of work-life balance. But “balance” itself is misleading, as it implies that to gain more of one, you need to sacrifice some of the other: go big with your venture or go home to your family. In reality though, you can do both.

So how can you go big and build a large-scale enterprise?

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Crazy is a Compliment summary