The Story of Me (IX): The End of Yesterday

So it's June 2006. If there's one thing good about a life-changing illness, it's that it changes your life! I wanted to learn something new, and have a proper go at making my ideas a reality. I had a window of opportunity because I was still relatively young, no kids, no mortgage and no-one to be responsible for except myself.

I'd also read an interview my friend Wykidd had given in the local paper about how it's the doing that counts. Essentially, all talk and no action = lame-ass. That really resonated with me because I was getting to the point where I'd tell my friends about Idea #281 and see their eyes glaze over "oh there she goes again with one of her hare-brained schemes". Actually, that pretty much sums up how disappointed I was in myself that I'd never executed any of my ideas.

There were also changes happening within my agency network, and my beloved boss had relocated to China so I read them all as the Universe nudging me to take that leap of faith.

I read Robert Kiyosaki's Before You Quit Your Job, an easily-digestible collection of real life lessons to prep you for a life of enterprise. It's part of the Rich Dad Poor Dad series so be warned - if you've read his other books it's very repetitious. It received mixed reviews but if you're an aspiring entrepreneur like me, it's pretty insightful. If you've already had experience with enterprise, you're not going to learn anything new.

Robert Kiyosaki also referenced an excellent article on the concept and definition of entrepreneurship in a modern day context by Harvard Professor Howard H. Stevenson. A Perspective on Entrepreneurship is available here from Harvard Business Online and outlines behavour between two extremes: "...the promoter who feels confident in his or her ability to seize opportunity regardless of the resources under current control....(and) the trustee who emphasizes the efficient utilization of existing resources".

I reproduce a summary here, without permission, to encourage you to purchase the article if you seek guidance on whether you tend more towards entrepreneurial or administrative behaviour.

(click to enlarge)

And so we conclude The Story of Me and how I got here. Thank God, I was getting bored of being so bloody retrospective!!! Yawn. Oh, but I want to tell you about my exploration into MBAs in my next post, but that'll be IT with the history lesson. I gotta get back into today stuff. Bye!