Perseverance

I wanted to interrupt the flow of the posts for today to bring up a very important topic that any aspiring entrepreneur should always embrace...and that is the topic of perseverance. Starting a business is not easy, neither is keeping it going. If it was easy, then everyone would be doing it. However, that is why successful entrepreneurs reap the rewards, because they take the path less traveled.

I met a blind man on the subway the other day. His name is Bob, and he was born blind. Yet, everyday, he has the courage to get on the crowded New York City subway to get to work. He also has a wife and kids too.

As I helped him get into the train, I looked at the face of this courageous man. I asked him, "How do you do it? Getting around I mean." He turned his head to the source of my voice, smiled and said, "Trial and error. Mostly error though" and laughed.

As we talked, I asked him about how he became blind and what he does. He taught me that you really don't need sight to see. Many people out there look but they don't see. Even this blind man was able to live a normal and happy life. He was able to see the good in his situation and in others.

But what he also demonstrated was something all entrepreneurs need to embrace. Perseverance. Even the most legendary of business leaders like Henry Ford failed multiple times before finally succeeding. Like the blind man, it was trial and error for them. Mostly error though.

Because truly, when you enter that newfound frontier of entrepreneurship, you could have the best plan in the world, but you cannot control everything. Like the blind man, sometimes you just need to feel around to make your way through. No one knows all the answers or the right ways to do things. The key is to do the best you can, and not give up. If the blind man gave up on life, he'd have nothing. He wouldn't have his wife and kids, he wouldn't have his friends. He would be a broken shell of a man, who would receive nothing but the half-hearted pity of others.

This is the same for entrepreneurs as well. If you persevere, good things will come. If you give up, nothing will come to you. You will be destined to work for someone else, always wondering what you could have done.

Before his stop came, I asked the blind man, "What would be the first thing you would do if you had sight again?" He smiled and said, "I'd look at my wife and kids." Just before the train door opened, he leaned over and whispered "And then maybe some Playboy magazine after that" and laughed.