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3 Characteristics of Entrepreneurs

The thought of starting a successful business is an attractive one. 

 In addition to reading books such as The E-Myth Revisited and listening to podcasts like Entrepreneur on Fire, I've started to observe successful business founders when I get a chance to be in their presence. 

 I know that success is a relative term. But if they've built a business that employees many people and that business has been sustainable for a long period of time- I call that pretty successful.

 Based on my observations, here are 3 common characteristics that I've observed.

  1. Entrepreneurs live in a reality distortion field: Steve Jobs made this famous I believe. The entrepreneurs that I've met live in a vision that reflects their reality and not the one that you and me as employees actually live in. They live in a world that you may not be familiar with and you either adapt to living in it, embrace it, or leave it.
  2. They have an extra gear: I'm fairly laid back by nature. To me a good day sometimes is just getting through it. The entrepreneurs that I've met don't think this way. They've done more in 8 hours than some people do in a week or even a month. Maybe that gear is found because they are passionate about what they do. Maybe that gear is genetic. Who really knows? It's there though. 
  3. They have a presence: Notice that I didn't say "executive" presence. Maybe it's better if I say that they are memorable for both the right and wrong reasons. Whether they like to hear themselves talk, or they are distracted by squirrels in mid-sentence, or they really do have that je ne sais quoi-- you remember them. 

For many of us that are great managers and operators, being entrepreneurial is a mindset-- something that is probably a combination of nature and nurture. Although I'm not sure which one dominates.

Let me know what you think. I'd be interested to hear what you've observed. 
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