Adrie's Blog

Know yourself

As an Entrepreneur it is very important to ensure you know yourself well, specifically as you will not have much backtalk but will be judged in a different way on failure and many times without a re-chance. I have always experienced that you have to make mistakes in order to grow and learn as long as they are not fatal... and you learn best when you are still young.

When I started in business, I have always tried to be critical about things I did - why certain things worked and came to fruition or why they may have failed. Always looking for the "why" - should i have done it differently, was I overbearing, or on the other end of the spectrum, perhaps I wasn't clear enough. Was I too arrogant or did I speak too much, did I truly know what I was talking about or did I take it too lightly. Was the chemistry with those around me good, or if not, could I change it at all. All of these questions are worth asking, the answers valuable to know.

One of the inherent characteristics of many entrepreneurs is that they are rather stubborn, which is fine, as long as they don't close their eyes for reality as it is. When you honestly want to know how you are doing, don't ask your mother - you already know what they will say. A great example of this is the program Idols, where in the auditions you have tons of people who come on stage totally inept and without a trace of talent for singing. Usually they are extremely offended by being turned down, as their family always thought they had a great voice! If you ask my honest opinion, always ask someone you know will be critical - for example, a successful entrepreneur and listen attentively whether it is good or bad, without defending or interrupting. Here it is the same as any time in your life - If you do not want to know the answer, don't ask the question.

The ones in the most danger of forgetting to check themselves are those that have experienced success. It becomes harder to be critical towards yourself or listen to advice from others once you know you can make a success of what you do. But it continues to be critically important as being an entrepreneur will never be easy, it's never "done" and the moment you think you have everything under control is the moment something happens, so always continue to check yourself and view yourself as you would another entrepreneur with your eyes wide open. Ask advice of those that really know their stuff and learn every day. At the end of the day, you are the one who will need to make that decision, you are the one who is responsible.

I have made my biggest mistakes if I took things too lightly and thought I knew already and didn't listen to signals from others nor from myself. Doing business always will be an uphill battle and you will be faced by many dangers...but the biggest danger often lurks within yourself.

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