More Than WE Know

In surveys, Women Entrepreneurs state that our top motivations for starting our own businesses are because WE want:

• a more flexible lifestyle
• a business culture that reflects their own values
• an income

Women Entrepreneurs want to earn money but WE want to do it our way. WE want a business that allows us the freedom to have lives as well. WE want to integrate our work with our family, our friends, our hobbies and our health. WE want to build businesses that honor the integrity of our souls as much as the quality of our work.

The profiles of Women Entrepreneurs that I’ve conducted over the past few weeks have been consistent with these survey results.

As you read the articles, were you struck by the way that they were each living with passion?

• They had created flexible lifestyles that integrated their work and home life.
• They were building businesses that reflected their own values whether that was creativity, generosity or community leadership.
• They were discovering the potential that existed within themselves, and inspiring others to do the same.

One thing I noticed was the optimism that each woman displayed. Even the ones who started their businesses due to hardship - divorce, financial woes, and illness, all took a positive view of the situation. They saw beyond the obstacles to the solutions that lay on the other side.

And they all pointed to the unexpected good things that had happened to them:

• a government grant
• a wholesale order
• widespread publicity

They also pointed to the personal benefits they had gained:

• more time with their children
• more creative outlets
• more friends
• better health
• more financial freedom

They each had had their share of challenges and disappointments, but they didn’t dwell on those. Instead they chose to focus on the good stuff.

Martin Seligman, former president of the American Psychiatric Association did a now well-known study of sales people. He discovered that optimists make better salespeople than pessimists. Subsequent research has indicated that optimists tend to live longer, healthier and happier lives as well.

I don’t know of any research that has been conducted on entrepreneurs and their level of optimism. But I would guess that a certain level of optimism is essential to successful entrepreneurs.

Becoming an entrepreneur requires a leap of faith. WE have to believe that we will find the answers, our troubles will pass, and everything will work out okay. And if it doesn’t, then WE believe it’s a lesson we can use for next time, when we will find the answers, our troubles will pass and everything will work out okay.

Seligman says that people who are not born optimists can be trained to become more optimistic.

If being optimistic doesn’t come naturally to you - here’s a quick action plan

-> Focus on the Good Stuff

It’s really that simple. What we focus on increases. If we focus on what’s going well, we won’t have as much time to focus on what’s not going well. And miraculously, even more things will start to go well.

(Hint–> This works with spouses, children and in-laws, too!)

That’s it.

Focus on the Good Stuff.

For those of you who want a more thought-out, well-reasoned, and well-written doctrine on the subject, I recommend Mike Robbin’s new book named (what else?) Focus on the Good Stuff: The Power of Appreciation

Mike takes you through all the challenges society puts in our way of being appreciative. He details how to be grateful in our thoughts, words and deeds. And he reminds us to appreciate ourselves as well as others.

So, if you’re hesitating to take the leap into entrepreneurship, then take this first step:

• begin focusing on the good stuff already in your life and in yourself and then step back and watch what happens!

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