Perseverance

Although I am not a big Disney fan, when I think of perseverance, I think of two quotes from the Disney movie Meet the Robinsons. The two quotes are, "Around here, however, we don't look backwards for very long. We keep moving forward, opening up new doors and doing new thing...and curiosity keeps leading us down new paths." The other is, "From failure, you learn, from success not so much."

I feel that both of these quotes are applicable to the perseverance that it takes to be an entrepreneur. I feel it is important to learn from history so we do not make the same mistakes but you can impede your forward progression if you are only looking back. You can apply this to your personal life and repentance as well. We need to learn from our mistakes, square our shoulders and look forward. With the lessons learned from the past, we can build new dreams for the future. 

With that being said, I am who I am today because of the mistakes I made yesterday. I am very thankful for the mistakes of yesterday. I would not like to relive them, yet I am grateful for them. Mistakes are a needed element of learning. As the Meet the Robinson's quote mentions, we do not learn that much from success.

When you find a mentor, they will be able to mentor you because they took paths that did not work. They know the dangers and pain first hand and can help guide you around them. In truth, the entrepreneurial journey is often a long one with more lessons learned than conquests. It is important as we embark on our business journey, that we do not look forward with rose colored glasses. Toss them aside and grab some tissues!

Yet, this is where the power of your passion comes in. If you have chosen something that you are passionate about and have already accepted that you will give your career to, then the long hours and the endless feedback and resulting pivots to your product will not wear you down because you are fueled by your passion. You are doing what you were born to do. That brings you joy despite the long hours or repeated pivots needed.

I will note that I have found some people like Magdalena Yesil have found that they love start-ups. They are born to create, develop and sell. Sometimes they are called serial entrepreneurs. Their paths still require healthy doses of perseverance.

Virtues that are within perseverance are humility, truth seeking, flexibility, listening, and prioritizing. I have also noticed that money is not a successful motivating element of perseverance. If that is what you are working for, you will not have what it takes. In speaking of perseverance, President James E Faust listed these opportunities and blessings of perseverance:

1. How to organize and use time wisely

2. The importance of hard work-that you reap what you sow

3. Leadership skills

4. People skills

5. The value of gospel study

6. Respect for authority

7.The importance of prayer

8. Humilty and dependence on the Lord

People that are not implementing the virtues above can be tempted to cut corners and turn to non-ethical choices to reach their goals. They want to skip the pain and quickly get to where they thing the greatest reward is. One thing that I have found in my study of entrepreneurship that fame and money is not the goal. The goal is following a calling, making a difference and sharing. 

Hard times and mistakes are going to be a part of your entrepreneurial journey. Embrace the mistakes and the feedback that your path will be peppered with. They are your steps to your goal. Keep dreaming and keep the true virtues of perseverance wrapped tightly around you and the people you select to mentor you on your journey.