The Difference Between Dreamers And Doers When It Comes To Entrepreneurship
The daydreamers sit down and think about what they could do but never follow through. They are individuals who constantly talk about how they want to create the next big thing, or have an idea that will revolutionize the world. As time goes by, they will still be at the same point in life as they were before: the “I have an idea…” stage.
What makes the doers distinct from others is the ability and the willpower to take advantage of opportunities that arise. They have the ability to execute. The daydreamers are wannabe-preneurs; the ones who have the ideas and want everyone around them to put in the hard work. They think they have the next big thing but fail to realize that someone else out there probably has a similar idea.
Ideas in isolation are worthless — the value of an idea comes from its execution. If you have an idea and don’t do anything about it, it holds no value whatsoever. Just like in any other aspect in life, if no time or effort is put forth, return is minimal. I’m never worried about the “entrepreneurs” who constantly talk about what they are doing or what they want to do — what scares me is the quiet ones who are silently working on other things. It’s the “two guys in the garage” who we should fear.
Don’t get me wrong — I love that entrepreneurship is on the rise and that there are people who are willing to work to innovate the world for a better future. But, it’s something that is commonly misunderstood. Ultimately, you're building something that could make a positive contribution to society, not something that will solely benefit you.
Entrepreneurship used to be regarded as a position that someone who was “unemployed” held, but now, it holds more prestige and authority. However, it is being used too often and thrown around to the point of holding no value whatsoever. It must be an earned title, a title that should express the hardships and risks required to start a new chapter in life.
What the start-up scene tends to display is the huge IPO and acquisitions that these companies attract, but it never portrays the hardships and risks that many of the entrepreneurs took in their lives to get to the positions where they are. The whole start-up scene, with the riches it could possibly yield, leads many individuals to think they could get wealthy, but truly, the chances of a successful acquisition or high valuation are quite slim.
Don’t launch a startup if you’re in it for the wrong reasons. If you’re in it to become rich, or to use it as resume filler or an excuse to drop out of school, then you’re going to have a bad time. Start a venture for the right reasons — do it because you want to, not because you have you to.
It is sometimes glorified that dropping out of school to launch a startup is the right thing to do, a la Steve Jobs, Mark Zuckerberg and Bill Gates. Accept that these individuals are all innovators — the doers, not the daydreamers. The visionaries are those who predict future social habits and trends to build things that fulfill human needs by revolutionizing how we interact and think on a daily basis.
There seems to be a gap between the work that goes into launching a startup and the success it will have. All of this requires proper strategic planning and execution — a mindset that not every person possesses. Entrepreneurship and the journey itself really revolves around your mental fitness and how much stress you can handle before burning out.
It is the ultimate test to turn you into a more mentally strong person.
Photo via Blue Devil Tumblr
