Entrepreneurs: To Know Your Business, Know Yourself

Entrepreneurs are the luckiest people on the face of the earth. We have the opportunity to create our future exactly as we want it. Literally, everything an entrepreneur does moves him/her closer to or further away from their future lifestyle and a dream fulfilled. It all begins with self-awareness and belief in one’s self.

Lifestyle Design and the Role of Self Awareness

Owning and operating a business that fits your lifestyle has a lot to do with how well you define what you want, have, and can learn. Knowledge of one’s self is of the utmost importance. I would even say you can’t know your business until you know yourself. Likewise, you have little if any chance of maintaining the vision and direction of your business in the face of early success without this self awareness. This want, have, learn can be vague, or it can be specific, but it should speak to you. It shouldn’t just be a hoop-jumping exercise. It should have personal significance. Here is an example:

Want: Get clear about the results you want to create in your business and life.

Have: Identify the resources you have at your disposal including time, money, and skills. What skills do you have that will help you achieve your goals?

Learn: Where are the gaps in your entrepreneurial skills? What do you need to learn?

Being clear about what you want, have, and can learn will help you to distinguish between that which is interesting and that which is indispensable to achieving your goals.

Advanced Knowledge

Of course, this is just a starting point. Over time, things inevitably get complicated. Things get messy. Everybody, entrepreneur or not, must strike a balance between their professional and personal lives, even when those two lives seem to be deeply entwined. More than just knowing what you want, what you have, and what you must learn, you have to know what’s most important within your list. Compromise is one thing and a useful skill, but prioritizing is absolutely essential and likely a part of your daily routine and cognitive load.