Don't let partisan politics kill your entrepreneurial spirit.
Believe me, it can happen.
It almost happened to me.
Without going into details about my own political associations, let me tell you what happened.
Recently, I attended an energizing, motivating, and eye-opening business seminar.
I almost missed it because my mind was closed.
There were advertisements all around me.
But because the speakers and agenda did not mesh with my ingrained political ideology, I literally did not see them.
You likely want to know at this point what the seminar was and who the speakers were.
Let's move beyond that bit of curiosity as it is not the point here.
What is Entrepreneurial Spirit? Your entrepreneurial spirit is the only thing that will help you thrive, not just survive, in the world today.
You've probably heard that before.
It's true.
This way of thinking is not just for young college graduates or anyone newly embarking on the work world.
It is for all of us.
The reason is there is rarely such a thing as one career, one field of study or application for any of us anymore.
Everything moves too fast for that.
To keep up we have to multi-think and diversify our thoughts and actions.
Nothing is static, especially our jobs, and even our businesses.
They have to constantly change and adjust.
This way of thinking is entrepreneurial.
We all have to be entrepreneurs, even those who work in traditional, 9-to-5 endeavors.
We create our own security by how we apply ourselves universally, not just on the job.
This is your entrepreneurial spirit.
Opening Your Mind Expands Your Spirit Sometimes, though, we can get in a rut, doing the same things the same way for the same outcome.
Mostly, that happens when we close our minds to new ideas and ways of thinking, discounting input from sources we have labeled "invalid" to our way of life.
It happened to me.
It took a client to (unintentionally) open my eyes.
She told me about the seminar and suggested I might be interested.
When I checked it out, I realized why I had not been aware of it, even though it was in my area.
Nothing and no one there was in my preferred political, ideology sphere.
I literally couldn't see the ads around me because my mind was closed.
It was an incredible opportunity for practically no cost to listen, first hand, live, to how "they" think and how "they" do what they do.
So I went.
A New Entrepreneurial Mindset As a result, I learned a completely, unexplored way (for me) of thinking as an entrepreneur.
Simply put, I learned that it is not always about selling your products or services.
After participating in the seminar, my thinking shifted.
I realized there are other, more creative ways to generate alternate or additional streams of income (legal, ethical, and moral ones) beyond fee for service or selling a product.
Again, it isn't about the details, just the idea.
The idea is the world has changed and there is no longer any "big brother" company that we can count on to provide for us throughout our working lives on into our retirement years.
We have to do that ourselves.
The only way to do it is to be or become an entrepreneur, or at least, think like one.
Our Security Is In How We Think We have to create our own security, and that takes an open mind.
We know what's right and what's wrong.
That should be our only concern, not which party or political agenda is right or wrong.
Follow your heart and your own mind, not a political ideology.
When we open our mind to others, regardless of their politics, we learn so much.
By taking the best of all worlds and putting them together, there is no limit to what we can accomplish as an entrepreneur.
When we think and live as entrepreneurs there are no "working years" and no "retirement years", there's just life.
The endurance of what we do, contribute, and accomplish throughout our life depends on our entrepreneurial spirit.
Let's not let partisan politics and polarizing ideology stand in the way of that spirit.
It's all we have.
Believe me, it can happen.
It almost happened to me.
Without going into details about my own political associations, let me tell you what happened.
Recently, I attended an energizing, motivating, and eye-opening business seminar.
I almost missed it because my mind was closed.
There were advertisements all around me.
But because the speakers and agenda did not mesh with my ingrained political ideology, I literally did not see them.
You likely want to know at this point what the seminar was and who the speakers were.
Let's move beyond that bit of curiosity as it is not the point here.
What is Entrepreneurial Spirit? Your entrepreneurial spirit is the only thing that will help you thrive, not just survive, in the world today.
You've probably heard that before.
It's true.
This way of thinking is not just for young college graduates or anyone newly embarking on the work world.
It is for all of us.
The reason is there is rarely such a thing as one career, one field of study or application for any of us anymore.
Everything moves too fast for that.
To keep up we have to multi-think and diversify our thoughts and actions.
Nothing is static, especially our jobs, and even our businesses.
They have to constantly change and adjust.
This way of thinking is entrepreneurial.
We all have to be entrepreneurs, even those who work in traditional, 9-to-5 endeavors.
We create our own security by how we apply ourselves universally, not just on the job.
This is your entrepreneurial spirit.
Opening Your Mind Expands Your Spirit Sometimes, though, we can get in a rut, doing the same things the same way for the same outcome.
Mostly, that happens when we close our minds to new ideas and ways of thinking, discounting input from sources we have labeled "invalid" to our way of life.
It happened to me.
It took a client to (unintentionally) open my eyes.
She told me about the seminar and suggested I might be interested.
When I checked it out, I realized why I had not been aware of it, even though it was in my area.
Nothing and no one there was in my preferred political, ideology sphere.
I literally couldn't see the ads around me because my mind was closed.
It was an incredible opportunity for practically no cost to listen, first hand, live, to how "they" think and how "they" do what they do.
So I went.
A New Entrepreneurial Mindset As a result, I learned a completely, unexplored way (for me) of thinking as an entrepreneur.
Simply put, I learned that it is not always about selling your products or services.
After participating in the seminar, my thinking shifted.
I realized there are other, more creative ways to generate alternate or additional streams of income (legal, ethical, and moral ones) beyond fee for service or selling a product.
Again, it isn't about the details, just the idea.
The idea is the world has changed and there is no longer any "big brother" company that we can count on to provide for us throughout our working lives on into our retirement years.
We have to do that ourselves.
The only way to do it is to be or become an entrepreneur, or at least, think like one.
Our Security Is In How We Think We have to create our own security, and that takes an open mind.
We know what's right and what's wrong.
That should be our only concern, not which party or political agenda is right or wrong.
Follow your heart and your own mind, not a political ideology.
When we open our mind to others, regardless of their politics, we learn so much.
By taking the best of all worlds and putting them together, there is no limit to what we can accomplish as an entrepreneur.
When we think and live as entrepreneurs there are no "working years" and no "retirement years", there's just life.
The endurance of what we do, contribute, and accomplish throughout our life depends on our entrepreneurial spirit.
Let's not let partisan politics and polarizing ideology stand in the way of that spirit.
It's all we have.