The Part Nobody Can Do But You

JANUARY 8, 2017 21:47

The United States, Switzerland, and Canada hold the top three positions.

Belgium, Taiwan, and Israel come in at #16, #17, and #18, respectively. That's the word from the most recent edition of the Global Entrepreneurship Index.

It's often heard that small business is the lifeblood of any economy... and that's true. But young companies are the lifeblood of small business. More jobs are created by entrepreneurs than by anyone else.

And while most people would like to be entrepreneurs (75% worldwide), only about 6% have taken the leap and started a business.

Which best describes your own stance? Are you a want to be, an already done it, or a "No thanks, I'll keep my nine-to-five" sort of person?

For years, I helped entrepreneurs launch businesses. I was an avid supporter of business start-ups. Until May 10 of 2013, though, I'd never done it myself.

I was afraid to take the leap....

THE NAVAJO AUTO MECHANIC WHO GAVE UP ON THE DREAM

I met him in Blanding, Utah, in the summer of 2009. I was there to help a U.S. government-financed business incubator get off the ground. The feds had sunk millions into the facility. It was planted in the middle of one of the poorest counties in the nation.

They thought it needed a promotions guy to help get the word out... maybe write a few articles and ads. Talking to a Navajo auto mechanic, though, I began to get other ideas about why the facility was empty.

As he talked about his work, his eyes lit up and his hands drew out the setting. There was a big juniper tree near the house. He had it rigged up with a block and tackle for pulling engines. And he had a ramp cars could drive up on to get off the ground. He loved being a mechanic. People for miles around depended on him to keep their automobiles running.

"Did you ever think about building a real shop, though?" I queried. "Wouldn't it be nice to get indoors during the winter and put in some hydraulic lifts?"

"Oh, yes. That was my dream for many years" came the almost sad reply.

I could see his eyes lose their luster. His face fell....

But I had good news!

"I'm here to help people like you! It's definitely possible for you to live that dream! There's a Small Business Development Center (SBDC) counselor at the business incubator -- he can help you get your business plan together. And there are plenty of grants I can help you apply for to get it funded. You can do it. I'll help!!!"

He shook his head and looked down. I'll never forget the moment.

Stealing a look my way and shaking his head, he said, "Nah, I couldn't do that. It wouldn't work."

I started to bear down and try to convince him otherwise, but it was apparent my words were bouncing right off his shoulders. He couldn't do it. He knew he couldn't do it. And that was that.

My report to the SBDC, after talking with a dozen more local residents, was that lack of advertising wasn't the problem. Everyone I spoke with knew about the incubator. And lack of ideas wasn't the problem. The people in San Juan County are as industrious and smart as any you'll meet anywhere on the globe.

The real problem was two-fold:

1. Lack of trust that the government would do what it says -- that's a tough one, but it can be overcome

2. Lack of faith in one's ability to achieve a dream -- that's the toughest barrier to break of all

BUILDING A BRIDGE BETWEEN THE PEOPLE AND THE PLAN

My job immediately became one of bridge-building. I was to help would-be entrepreneurs develop enough faith in the help I was offering them AND faith in their own ability to bring the dream within them out in the open to begin walking in that direction.

The biggest thing lacking in San Juan County and in every other county I've ever seen... is faith. Call it "self-confidence," if you prefer. But lack of believing is what holds most of us back from living the life of our dreams.

I went to work developing a method, a program if you will. I studied every motivational system I could find. I read Scripture, ancient philosophy, modern philosophy, entrepreneurial classics -- you name it -- everything I could get my hands on.

Nothing seemed to fit the situation good enough, though, so I wrote a strategy especially suited for the occasion. I called my work the Dream Into It Program (DIIP). It quickly came to be pronounced "The DEEP," though. And that word fits the system well.

I began teaching DEEP concepts to everyone who would listen -- college students, displaced workers, the Rotary Club, the local high school... I even took it into the San Juan County Jail every Friday evening.

And here's what I found: Those who wanted to change badly enough grabbed onto the DEEP and amazing things happened. A secretary finally published her children's book and began touring libraries with it. A Navajo man ended up being released to probation rather than being sent to prison. He got his family back and started a concrete business he'd been dreaming about.

Stuff happened quickly.

But other people didn't want it badly enough. They didn't like the work involved -- the thinking, the introspection, the daily component called "Doing The DEEP." They still got favorable results immediately, but they fell away and went back to the same old attitude of "I can't. Nobody will let me. If you were in my shoes, you'd give up too."

My own story took a dramatic turn as well. A billionaire set down in his Learjet at a remote airport in the high desert. He offered me a job, flew me to corporate headquarters, and helped me build my writing career.

I'll be forever grateful to him and The DEEP.

(Of course, I began teaching the course at corporate headquarters too... but that's another story.)

HERE'S WHAT IT TAKES TO GET STARTED

My personal tagline is "Writer, Dreamer, Believer. Friend of Entrepreneurs."

The marketplace needs your ideas, and it needs the jobs you will create when you launch your business. If you've been holding a dream inside, stop doing that. Let it out. Get it out, and Get going.

Whether you live in the Israel, the USA, or elsewhere, you can find a place where entrepreneurship is taught and practiced. Get involved. An old parable says, "If you want to get to the Holy mountain, then keep walking in that direction."

But you need to want to get there badly enough.

There's plenty of help. I'll help. Others will too.

But you have to believe your dream is possible.

That part is entirely up to you.

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To find out more about The DEEP, use the contact form on Roadturn.com.