The life of an entrepreneur is full-on and the mindset one needs to develop has to be resilient but one of the biggest misunderstandings about the entrepreneurial journey is surrounding where the success lies.
When speaking to Shalom Okene, Outlaw #2, he talked about his realisation that ‘the end is not the end’, it made me shift my perspective on what it means to be an entrepreneur in the first place.
To me, entrepreneurship was about creating something of value to people, building a business and then eventually selling it. It was a transactional process where in return for your time you got the potential of financial freedom and success.
My perspective was too focused on the end goal. It saw entrepreneurism as a form of freedom to work under your own rules but the success was only seen at the end of the journey.
I see my journey as an entrepreneur differently now. My life is my entrepreneurial pursuit. I am here to learn, grow and enjoy whatever is thrown my way.
I think we are all entrepreneurs. We are entrepreneurs of our lives, creatively living and surviving whatever is thrown our way. There is no right or wrong way to live and when we have problems we have to react in the best way we can to overcome them.
If we shift our perspectives so that we can see all the small steps of progress we are making in our lives and see how many elements add up to make us who we are then we will all see that our lives are entrepreneurial pursuits of happiness and freedom. We are all on a journey of growth.
Shalom Okene - Episode Highlight - https://www.youtube.com/shorts/UceNLb7nbcE
The Journey:
The journey one makes in an entrepreneurial career is one of progress, patience, pain and loss and maybe some success much like life.
The entrepreneurial journey is one of personal growth and not just career success.
The end is not the end because, as people, each passion we pursue is just a chapter in our book. Each business we build, relationships we get into, each home we create is just a moment in time and a new story being made.
The end is not the end because as long as we can move forward, we still have lessons to learn and experiences to absorb. The journey never finishes because the person we are evolves with it and beyond it.
We aren't shaped by our careers, we are shaped by the experiences we have and the environments we put ourselves in to grow.
You might have heard someone ask the question ‘What is the meaning of life?’ For me, the meaning of life is to experience all aspects of life. The ups and downs, the full range of emotions. Rejection, dejection, happiness, success and so on.
We are here to experience it all and therefore we need to start seeing our lives with a wider awareness to fully understand how entrepreneurial we all are. We are the creators of our reality and we can choose how we want to live our lives.
We need to stop compartmentalising different elements of our lives and comparing them to others. We need to see every element of ourselves adds up to a greater value than we perceive and therefore everything we do matters because it determines who we become.
One of the main areas we get this wrong is within our understanding of the meaning of ‘work’.
What does ‘work’ even mean?
The transactional nature of work for many means that the 8 hours one spends at work is not seen as personal progress for who you are. Most people go to work to make money, to survive, to have something to do.
However, this mindset is wrong because we are learning and growing every time we turn up to do a task or work with people. We are constantly evolving who we are from the interactions we have and the tasks we attempt.
The separation between work and play is divided for many people. Many don't view their time at work as a time to play, but that is just the limitations of one’s perspective.
I seek to blend both so that within my work I play and when I play I learn for my work.
The word work has almost become obsolete to me as everything I choose to spend time on I enjoy to the point that it doesn't feel like I am working or spending time doing something in return for money.
I am exploring how far I can push my skills, how I can develop my responses to problems and how I can improve and provide a good service for others. The word ‘work’ has evolved to mean ‘growth’ for me. It’s a mindset that frees me from the idea that I am not in control of my life.
If you all looked at your career and broke down how you viewed it, would it be completely transactional? By that I mean, are you only going to be paid? Or are you going to help and support someone and through that learn new skills and expand your knowledge and mindset?
How easily can you break down your job and see that the responsibilities are elements of growth for you?
Regardless of who you are. How many skills have you learnt through your work and how many experiences have shaped how you move forward?
You are growing daily as a person but you just need to choose to see it and accept it.
Ikigai:
The Japanese have the concept ‘Ikigai’ which refers to something that gives a person a sense of purpose, a reason for being. You find something you love, something you are good at, something the world needs and something you can be paid for and you work on it for your entire life.
There is no retirement with an Ikigai it is a lifelong journey of progress and development and one where the more hours you put in the more accomplished you become.
What I love about this concept is that it stretches across one's life. You choose to do something until you die because the importance isn't in the success you gain from it but more towards the skills you learn and the happiness you have doing it.
How many of you have taken up a hobby with the thinking that you would explore it for 40 years or more? Not many, I would assume. But what if we shifted towards thinking this way? What if we studied something with no end goal and no time limit and just turned up when we wanted to with the mindset of looking to learn and improve each day?
Would we find more fulfilment in our lives knowing we had a longer timeline to improve at it?
An Ikigai relates very much so to Shalom’s words. With an Ikigai the end is only the end when you die. So don't work for an end goal, work for progress and your self-development each day.
Take Control:
If you agree with any of my perspectives in this piece then maybe I can end it with the following words to help give you confidence in yourself and your journey.
We are all here to go on the journey of life. There is no right or wrong path, just paths of experience and it is down to the mindset you have to be able to learn and grow from these experiences.
Take control of how you view the world and don't let the negative experiences or your perceived lack of progress stunt your mind and belief that you will live a happy and free life filled with success.
Our world today is filled with so many people talking about their incredible successes that it can be easy to think we aren't progressing at the right speed or scale.
The reality is that each small step we take forward is progress, regardless of whether you see it or not. So make sure you give yourself the space to move forward freely and learn to love the highs and lows of life as just experiences you are currently walking through.
If you see your life as an entrepreneurial pursuit and look at it as endless opportunities to learn and grow then you will start to see more opportunities and doors to walk through, therefore creating more chapters in your book.
Listen to the full episode with Shalom Okene here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LNtEpDwff8I&t=4s
I am Will Flindall, host of the Valley of Outlaws Podcast where I speak to those who have decided to take control of their life and follow a passion or instinct.
If you feel like you could be getting more from your life, then maybe one of the conversations I’ve had with the Outlaws might help you kickstart a change.
Peace x
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