A Beautiful Mind: Are entrepreneurs born or made?
It is a commonly held view that entrepreneurs are born, not made. But is this the case?
My guess is if you’re reading this you’re an entrepreneur, or you’re wondering if you might be one.
Entrepreneurs might be proud of the fact that they’ve made millions, or even billions, but how did they figure it out? Were they born to make money and think creatively, outside the box? Being self made is an entrepreneurial trait.
Plus, it rates higher on the street cred scale.
You and me? We brothers, B. We didn’t think we would make it this fucking far, but fuck if we ain’t standing here right now with the whole world at our feet. The whole world, man, not these fucking corners. The whole world, B.” – Stringer Bell
Some say entrepreneurs are born and not made.
What do you think? Do you think the decision is made the moment the sound of the first baby cry cracks the silence in the birthing room? Or maybe it happens even earlier, when the sperm and the egg join and solidify into life, maybe there’s genetic coding in the DNA that is encoded with a self determining prophecy stating whether or not you’ll ever be an entrepreneur. Sorry billy, you cards were dealt at the moment of conception, go and get a corporate job and never question anything again. The decision has been made, move on. Don’t you think that all of those years of shaping from parental guides has anything to do with your outlook on life? It is the reason people have accents, after all.So if most people say entrepreneurs are born, and not made, to what moment of birth do you think they’re referring? Does it happen at the moment of conception, or is it 7 years later when the years of lessons and personality have sunk into the sponge of a human who is mirroring it’s mentors? Or is it a combination of the two, genetic lottery plus upbringing. Nurture vs nature. Not such a simple deduction it seems.
To some extent I’d agree, that entrepreneurs are born and not made. You have it, or you don’t. But the key thing here is when do you have it? Is it affected by external influences like mentors in the form of videos, podcasts or life coaching? Haven’t we all seen Tony Robbins turn lives around in the matter of minutes? Haven’t we all watched documentaries of people losing 100kg succeeding against all odds, recovering when everyone said they wouldn’t?
So are entrepreneurs are born and not made?
There is the distinct possibility of doing a 180 degree flip from a regular job and regular life, to the inventive and creative pursuits of entrepreneurialism.
But then again, maybe it was there since birth and the DNA encoding activated because it was agitated when called upon, and sprung into action. (Maybe that’s how the appendix works too?)
It’s not like the moment you’re birthed into the great human experiment, you’re prescribed a job for the rest of your life (Antz, anyone?). DNA isn’t a barcode for your behaviour. And even if it was, an entrepreneur wouldn’t accept the sentence. No, an entrepreneur is born the moment someone decides, to think for themselves, beyond your learned behaviours and layers of perspective piled on-top.
I think you can be RE-born, because you can choose. It’s your choice, to decide.
Decide today.
