Famous Entrepreneurs – Do You Have These 5 Key Traits of the Most Successful Entrepreneurs?
When people are asked to list the greatest and most famous Entrepreneurs of all time, there are a few names that you can be fairly certain will be included – Gates, Rockefeller, Dell, Jobs, Carnegie, to name just a few.
But when I think about the greatest famous Entrepreneurs of all time, I come up with a little different list of names. I think of names such as Washington, Jefferson, Franklin, Madison, and Adams.
In today’s issue, you are going to discover exactly what makes these men truly great Entrepreneurs. You are going to find 5 traits that make them Entrepreneurs, and how you can emulate them to become the next great Captain of Industry.
Launching a new company takes enormous courage. As an Entrepreneur, you risk your wealth, your reputation, and your very livelihood on what in the beginning is little more than hopes and dreams.
This is why some of the most admired people today are Entrepreneurs. This is why today’s truly great Entrepreneurs are idolized and emulated.
These brave men and women put everything on the line, and through their ingenuity, creativity, passion, and the sheer force of their will, they created thriving Empires.
But the risks taken by modern-day Entrepreneurs are nothing in comparison to those of our Founding Fathers.
With names like Jefferson, Washington, Franklin, and Madison, this small group of rabble-rousers thumbed their nose at the world’s most powerful nation. Doing so, they didn’t just risk their wealth, their lands, their titles, and their reputations. By boldly signing their name to the Declaration of Independence, they risked their very lives.
True, the world has seen many revolutionaries, and bravery is the one common trait that they all share.
But this unique group of great and successful Entrepreneurs had more than just bravery. They shared a unique and clear vision for the future, and they had the passion and the drive to force their vision to become reality, against all odds.
Sound familiar? It should…because these are also traits shared by the world’s greatest Entrepreneurs.
Consider the world that the Founding Fathers were living in. It was a world dominated by Empires and Monocracies. They didn’t have a current model or a blue print to follow as they set out to form a unique and new nation.
What they were trying to create was something completely new, something totally innovative…something truly revolutionary.
A self-governing people, with a supreme leader (eventually the world’s most powerful leaders) who would willingly relinquish power after no more than 8 years? Leaders of the day couldn’t fathom such a thing. It just didn’t happen.
Today, a truly great Entrepreneur will create an enormous corporation that will revolutionize existing, or even create entirely new industries. They will generate massive fortunes not just for themselves, but for their stock holders, and even for their employees. The companies that they create can sometimes last for hundreds of years.
These are noble Entrepreneurs, and are rightfully admired.
But the Founding Fathers didn’t just create a company. Their goal was much bigger than that – against all odds, they created a nation. A great nation that has stood for over 235 years. They drafted a Constitution that has stood the test of time, and is now the oldest in the world.
They created a country that is the envy of all others. A nation that many have tried unsuccessfully to duplicate. A nation that is so unique and so special that today, almost 250 years later, it is still attracting “huddled masses yearning to be free”.
There are many lessons that can be learned from our Founding Fathers – the greatest Entrepreneurs in the history of the world. Here are just a few:
1. They had a crystal clear vision.
The Founding Fathers had a vision of a nation free of tyranny and repression. They had a vision of this great nation – they knew what it looked like, what is felt like. They could almost taste it. That when they started they didn’t know exactly how to get to that point wasn’t important. They knew where they were headed – the visions of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness were ingrained in their minds.
And more importantly, they were able to share that vision in such a way that an entire nation could understand and believe in it. The vision of these few leaders became the common vision of a country.
All great Entrepreneurs share this trait. ALL Entrepreneurs have a vision – but the truly great Entrepreneurs are able to clearly convey this vision to others, and get them to buy into their vision. That is how the most successful companies, as well as the greatest nations come into being.
If you don’t have a clear vision, then you don’t know where you are going. And if you don’t know where you are going, then how can you expect others to follow your lead?
2. They were extremely courageous.
As you can no doubt imagine, founding a nation takes great courage. Standing up to the armies of the most powerful nation on earth at the time took immense bravery. They knew what the cost of defeat was – and no, it wasn’t just the loss of a vacation home in the Florida Keys. Defeat would cost them all their necks.
Starting and growing your own company takes incredible courage too. Only a very brave person can cut the safety strings of a well-paying 9-5 job. Only a courageous Entrepreneur can go toe-to-toe with the entrenched power brokers in any industry and carve out their own niche. Some of them even come to dominate their industry.
3. They had rock-solid determination.
The Founding Fathers faced incredible odds, and also faced disappointment and discouragement on a regular basis – especially early in the war. But even when things looked the bleakest, they persisted. They had a vision. They had courage. And they had the persistence and drive to see them through to the end.
Your own business is no different. You will have set-backs. You will face discouragement and disappointment. There will be days when you will be tempted to just give up and throw in the towel. That is what the weak will do. You don’t know any of their names. You only know the names of those who refused to give up. Who fought through adversity. Who battled against disappointment and discouragement. And who eventually created thriving Empires.
4. They worked for the common good.
The Founding Fathers didn’t do all this just for themselves. Their primary goal wasn’t personal glory. They weren’t trying to establish themselves as kings or dictators or emperors. They just wanted to create a free nation that would benefit ALL of its citizens – and would eventually benefit the entire world.
The truly great and most famous Entrepreneurs do the same. You can see it in the many multi-millionaires created by their Empires. You can see it in the service they give to their communities. You can see it in their great acts of philanthropy – with people like Gates and Buffet giving the vast majority of their wealth to their charities.
If you try to do everything for yourself, then you’ll be by yourself. No one will follow you – not your employees, and certainly not your customers.
5. They created an environment that produced raving fanatics.
It’s hard to imagine a more fanatical person than a true patriot. And this country is full of them. Hundreds of millions of people today that share one common overwhelming feeling – the love of their country.
If you have read Your UNFAIR Competitive Advantage: “Who Says Competition Has To Be Fair?”, then you already know just how powerful enhancing your business environment can be. The Founding Fathers were able to enhance the environment of an entire nation. The environment that they created has lasted for over two hundred years.
And this environment still attracts throngs of people. It is still a magnet for the “huddled masses yearning to be free”.
Your company is no different. You too can create an environment that is so attractive, so appealing, that people become raving fanatics. You can have your own huddled masses, yearning for outstanding tax preparation, or amazing t- chicago bears hawaiian shirtdesign, or a fantastic cup of coffee.
The secret of the long-term success of America is more than just freedom. The Founding Fathers created an Environment that cannot be duplicated anywhere else. This environment is so unique, so revolutionary, and so compelling, that it has stood for almost 250 years. You can do the same for your company.
write by Starsky Banks
