What does a company, a product, a service, a good theater play, a song, a great dancer, a sculpture, an olympic athlete, a unique architectural work, a board game, a family or a philanthopic cause have in common?

All, without exception, are the product of an entrepreneurial process that originated in an idea. In an objective, a purpose, a vision. All are the product of someone's imagination which enabled them to visualize something.

I have already mentioned in other entries that the entrepreneurial process goes well beyond the creation of companies. All of what we pursue in our lives is an entrepreneurial endeavor. Choosing a career, having a hobby, reading a book, writing a poem or working out -among others- are vivid examples of entrepreneurship in action. Think about them for a minute and realize that all initiate with an idea, or a vision.

The problem arises when we acknowledge that we only pursue and fulfill a small subset of all the ideas and objectives that we accumulate along our lives. "You will fail 100% of the shots you don't shoot" is a saying that I use in my presentations which I think is very accurate. We have a huge backlog of plans and dreams in our minds and souls, but the truth is that most of them are like arrows in a stretched  bow that we never let go. Henceforth, we reach the end of our lives with thousands of unrealized plans and dreams.

This applies to all of our life dimensions. In the personal dimension, we all have in our plans to learn a new language, or how to play a musical instrument, climb certain mountain or run a marathon. However few people achieve them. in our family dimension, thousands of troubled couples want to fix their relationships, but only few take the first step to do so -most of the times pride blocks it - ; or the parents of a troubled son or daughter [ie. with a learning or eating disorder] that because of fear are unable to confront reality and act. In our professional dimension, we all have ideas on how to better perform at work, but we fear to share them with our teams, we all have plans to increase sales, but we don't execute them. Finally we all have the opportunity to help those in need but we hardly do so. In general terms, we have an idea-execution gap. A gap that can only disappear when we have an Attitude-E.

My conclusion is that this is not an issue of ideas or plans. We all have them in great quantities. The real issue here is about Envision and Energy. Once we have an idea, we must envision it, focus on it and visualize it realized and then apply energy to it so that we can evolve from plan to action. "If you are going to fail, fail fast and go on" but don't hold your dreams for fear of failing. As Mark Twain stated "Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowline. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover"

Applying energy to an initiative is working on it with enthusiasm and passion. If we really want to run the Chicago Marathon we have to go out and train with discipline. If we really want to learn how to play the trumpet, we must find the right teacher, call her, and schedule the first session. If we really want to save our marriage we must overcome our pride and give the first step. And this applies to all of what we pursue in our daily lives. We have to let go the arrow in our bow, because if we don't do it, as Barker states, it will only be a dream. On the other hand, a vision with action [Envision + Energy] can change the world.  

So it's all in your hands. Work hard to pursue your dreams and you will certainly change the world. Your world, your family's, your work's and the world around us that is in so much need!!! 

As you have probably read in this website, an Attitude-E is positive, contagious and constructive. Its an attitude that has the potential to change the world; and I am really convinced about it, because it is a seed of change that grows deep within each individual -positively affecting his attitude- empowering him to be an agent of change. An Entrepreneur, -positively changing his behavior patterns- and generating positive impact in his own life, in his family, in his workplace and in society through philanthropic or social endeavors. 

But what is it that it takes to have an Attitude-E? After a lot of thought, after reflecting on my own experience as an entrepreneur, after reading biographies of famous entrepreneurs and after analyzing people that have pursued their dreams, I have decomposed the Entrepreneurial Attitude, or Attitude-E in six fundamental attributes that are: Envision, Energy, Endurance, Ensemble, Elasticity and Engagement.

Every entrepreneurial endeavor starts with someone Envisioning an end goal, having an idea, defining a vision. This is how great corporations, high performance athletes, a winning product, a great husband or wife, a talented artist or a good philanthropic cause is born!  However, a lot of us get stuck right there: in the idea. We never pursue it. That is why Energy is so important. Energy will take us from idea to action. Having the intention of learning a new language or how to play the piano is useless if we don't apply energy and take the time to find a teacher, schedule our classes and start. It is common that we start our purposes with high levels of energy and enthusiasm, but as time passes, the energy fades and fades until its non existent and we drop-out of whatever we are pursuing. This makes the third attribute, Endurance, instrumental for any entrepreneurial endeavor. Perseverance has been the single most important characteristic of successful entrepreneurs. Without endurance it will be very difficult to fulfill our vision, since the path to reach it is usually pretty hard. 

After that, we have to realize that we are not alone in the process of fulfilling our vision. Regardless of the size and kind of vision we have, we will always interact with other people along the way. They are key to fulfill our goals. These people conform our Ensemble, our team and it is our responsibility and our role as entrepreneurs to identify it, motivate it, align it and efficiently work with its members to accomplish our goals. We will also need Elasticity or the ability to adapt to changing conditions, to think creatively in order to find new solutions to old problems and to stretch ourselves so that we can work with the resources we have -which are usually scare- to reach our goals. Finally there is Engagement. To engage is to invest all the energy, passion and love that we have to whatever we are pursuing. When we do so, we will absolutely reach our goals regardless of the obstacles and adversities that we will encounter in our voyage!

This six attributes make an Attitude-E. We can control them all and it is in our will if we want to pursue them and work on them. But there is one more, which is the only one we cannot control, but it is as important as the other six. It is Serendipity. Fate, destiny or luck. It is said that life is determined by events of very low probability, almost random ones,  and we must be alert to realize when those moments of luck cross our paths so that we can capitalize on them and make them work to fulfill our vision!

My next entry to the blog will go deeper on the first attribute of an Attitude-E: Envision.

Until then!

F