The Entrepreneurial Savant

- Jean Cocteau
Sometimes criticism is a sign that you are on the right track. Often, when we are pursuing a personal dream or vision, our actions and decisions may seem completely off base to others. They begin to second guess or constructively criticize our actions to make them fit their view of reality. Sometimes this can be a help but other times you should be careful to trust the individuality of your path and keep following it. As Cocteau implies, lose your personal style and risk losing yourself.

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Expert poker players know that the way to win consistently is to fold whenever you have a hand that is weak and hang in there when your hand is strong. They also know that when you have a good hand, it gets better as more cards are on the table. Extremely successful investors also know that it is vital to have a plan to cut losses quickly and to let profitable positions ride until they run out of steam. As obvious as these tactics seem, very few humans make good poker players or successful speculators because it is our nature to hold onto losing positions until we can regain our losses. We also tend to grab profits right away instead of letting them build. The key to changing this destructive behavior lies in having a plan to control your exposure to risk.
Whatever you do for a living, it is a good idea to know the point where you will stop putting energy into a losing situation. When you make your plans, build in a set of indicators that tell you that things are not working out and that it is time to exit gracefully, accepting your small losses as an investment in experience. By doing this you’ll leave yourself the energy and resources you need to go on to other things.
Conversely, when things are going well and you have begun to profit from them, you must resist the temptation to get out while the going is good. The best time to take your winnings is after the tide has turned and your project is running out of steam or changing. Getting out too early will not put you into the black. It works like this:
Imagine you get five bad hands in a poker game or five stock market picks start going down. The person without a risk control plan will lose a little too much money on each losing situation as they hope for a turnaround, adding up to considerable losses, possibly even breaking the bank. The player with an experienced attitude towards risk gets out as soon as it is apparent that things aren’t working out, taking a small loss. On the winning side, the participant without a plan who finally gets a profitable position will usually get out too early because of the desire to ‘protect’ their winnings. The experienced player knows that he must bet the pile on the winners and stay in there, taking money away from the little profit takers and making up for all those little losses he accepted earlier. One 100% gain wipes out nine 10% losses and shows a profit. One 100 % loss puts you out of business.
The secret of risk control is to have plan and stick to it, no matter what.

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Human beings are always in search of things that can change or improve our life. Paradoxically, nothing we have is permanent and the future is always a mystery, no matter how carefully we prepare for it. All of our work up to this moment can be undone in an instant by forces beyond our control or those same unknown forces can suddenly propel us forward into entirely new territory, unexpected and exciting.
The result of this lost past and uncertain future is that we are, by nature, seekers. Those who choose to try and define their life by today’s standards will end up struggling against the inevitability of change. Their lives are defined by the past. Others may always be looking forward, trying to discern the future when things will be better. They are locked into a reliance on uncontrollable forces. Realizing that things will never be the same as this moment helps us focus in on what we are doing now and gives life its sweetness; the sweetness that comes from experiencing things which will never be again. Sometimes in our search for personal and professional success we become too focused on what has been and will be. Now is the moment in which we actually live. Appreciate it.

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A consideration is a form of payment and receiving one is the sign of a professional. If this seems like a contradiction to our secret that tells you to give things away, think of it this way: It is the nature of the consideration that is important. In business matters the consideration may be money, referrals, the promise of future business, etc. In charitable matters it may be internal satisfaction or the knowledge that your contribution will have measurable effect. Only by insisting on a consideration do you value your contribution in the eyes of others. Insisting on results may mean your money or time is put to the most beneficial use rather than being thrown into an amorphous fund.
Why is it important to be considered a professional? Self-esteem issues aside, we live in a capitalist society and the professionals often get the most interesting opportunities. The most basic description of a professional is one who pursues their interests as a profession, a source of life. If you are truly dedicated to your vision then being a professional is the least you can do. And that means requiring a consideration for your input.

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Many of us view money as the measurement of success. In part this is because we live in a materialistic society whose value judgments are often based on how much material wealth a person has gathered in their lifetime. This might contrast, for instance, with a  society like India’s where a wise teacher is revered for their knowledge and compassion rather than the number of followers they have or the size and opulence of their temples.
Because we use money as a measurement of success, it is important to understand what money is. Money is a representation of energy. When we do work for hire, our efforts are repaid in dollars which represent a specific value placed on our work. Wealth is often accumulated by leveraging our efforts, either through the use of borrowed assets, tools or money or by hiring others to do our work and then marking up their efforts to bring ourselves a profit.
The value of realizing that money is a form of energy is that we can get past the desire for money for its own sake and realize that what we desire is more energy. That energy may take many forms. A teacher dispenses energy in the form of knowledge and experience. a computer creates energy in the form of extra time saved and the speed with which it performs routine or repetitive tasks. Energy comes from relationships that provide support and love giving us new strength and motivation. All of these sources of energy, along with money, are the fruits of success. However they come with a catch. We can only use so much energy. Beyond a certain point, an excess is useless to us personally. Because of this there is a responsibility to spread your energy around after you attain success by teaching, creating jobs, empowering charitable organizations and providing motivation and support to others.
Ironically, the more energy you pass along, the more comes back to you in a variety of forms. One of the most effective ways to get started on the path towards success is to start passing the energy you have out to others without obligation or expectation of a return. It will come back to you in unexpected and exciting ways.

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If you constantly compare yourself to others you are doomed to failure. Their accomplishments are accomplished in the context of their lives, not yours. The true test of success is to look at what you are doing and ask yourself if you are doing your best. If the answer is yes, then you are succeeding.
Comparing yourself to yourself always gives you a benchmark or point of comparison. You know your own personal rules and guidelines and you can use them to judge yourself. Comparing yourself to others tilts the playing field because you can’t possibly share the same resources and experiences.

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“If it’s so good, how come everybody isn’t doing it?”
Every visionary, entrepreneur, artist and creative thinker has heard this one. The answer is that ‘everybody’ seldom follows through on their dreams and it always takes a powerfully determined individual to take action on their ideas and visions. Sure, someone may have thought of your idea before. I doubt there are too many new ideas out there after thousands of years of human thought. Embracing that idea and pursuing it diligently separates you from the crowd and that’s why everybody isn’t doing it. Follow your dream. You may succeed and if you don’t, you’ll have the satisfaction and experience of having tried.

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Contrary to what our society teaches us, the $7 an hour burger cook who makes a great burger is earning their wages as much or more than the $50 an hour executive dashing from meeting to meeting. Both are working hard to do what they are paid to do and do it as well as they can. Unfortunately, it is common and almost acceptable to put no value on other people’s work unless they make more than you or are perceived as somehow better or more successful. I’ve seen craftspeople doing extremely skilled work treated as a subhuman species by others who probably couldn’t describe what they accomplished that day if you asked them- but who earn high salaries or have ‘serious’ job descriptions. The point of this diatribe is that work well done is admirable and respectable no matter what it is or who is doing it.

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Improvisation is the basis of creativity. It usually means altering your viewpoint of what you already have to work with so that you can make others see it differently. It seldom means creating something from nothing.
The master improvisational artists of our time are jazz musicians. Saxophonist Warren Marsh spelled a simple formula for musical improvisation:
• Sing the melody in time
• Sing the roots of the chords in time
• Sing the 1 5 7 of the chords in time
• Improvise on the 1 5 7 of the chords
Those of us who are musicians will understand this and also understand that this simple formula for working around a melody opens up an enormous world of musical possibilities. The musician with talent and skill will make the most interesting and moving choices.
For the non-musicians I’ll offer an interpretation (improvised of course) of Mr. Marsh’s formula.:
• Learn the basics of what you have to work with; the roots
• Find those elements that are the foundations and eliminate everything else
• Take that foundation and improve upon it, polishing it to bring out the strengths
• Combine those shining strengths and go with where it takes you
Too esoteric? Try applying this process to something mundane you do that needs a change. You might find a refreshing tune under all that orchestration.

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The definition of success not only varies from person to person but also changes as you define and achieve your goals. Those things that seemed so important and unreachable at age 20 now are run of the mill or replaced by totally different priorities. As we grow through experience, our goals change, often from material things to spiritual or personal growth goals. We may take on bigger, more visionary projects or simply try to be good parents, community members and workers. The ultimate message of this site and the ultimate definition of success have more to do with experience of achieving than the achievement. Life occurs in between the peaks and every time we conquer one, a whole new vista, previously unseen, unfolds. Enjoying the journey is the true secret of success.

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