My Last Lecture
I wake up
every morning having to choose one of two choices, to live life to its fullest
taking every opportunity that comes my way, or living life as others do taking
only the opportunities that seem to best fit my plans. Neither seems like a wrong
choice so which is right?
I have come
to believe that living life on a plan is not what life is about. Sure, you
should have goals and plans to get there but when opportunities come they will
not wait for you to consult your plan for life. I believe that every opportunity
should be taken without hesitation. At times we may crash and burn but at least
for a while we were able to fly. Life is a risk in itself but it will never go
anywhere if you never take the opportunities presented to you.
The life of
an entrepreneur is a hard one filled with downfalls and what some people like
to call failure. Failure is a harsh word that often connotates that there is no
progression and no way to move forward. But I’ve learned to rename failure to a
lesson learned. It is only another stepping stone to success, another way that
isn’t going to work. With each failure comes an opportunity to learn and grow
if one is willing to take that chance and let it change their world.
I once had
a wise man tell me that entrepreneurship is not a job or a career it is a
lifestyle and risk is a part of that so-called job description. When we came to
this earth we knew what we were signing up for. I think it is a waste of this
life if people were to only ever stay in their own little worlds of comfort and
never try anything new. How many times does a child fall before they learn to
walk? Come to think of it I’m still falling on occasion even as an adult. There
are always more lessons to be learned.
A mentor of
mine once said to me to remember that even after the success comes failure and
set backs still happen. Just because the business is finally up and running
does not mean that down the road there will not be setbacks, but it is a part
of life and business to learn from the setbacks and move on. He said that the
hardest thing about being an entrepreneur is fighting the mental battle after
failure, still believing in yourself and your ideas. The next hardest thing
about being in charge is having to fire others. Entrepreneurship is often about
helping others and when you have to go to your employees and tell them that
they will have to find another place to work it tears a leader apart.
Being an
entrepreneur is about more then making a business, it is about “finding a need
in the world and finding a way to fill it.” It is about passion, service,
freedom, and growth. This life is about taking every opportunity, turning
failure into lessons learned and bringing meaning to one’s own life as well as
those around them.
