Five signs you’re not made for entrepreneurship

The world is made of those who obey and leaders. Who you are? If you’re more likely to feel comfortable getting orders for the rest of your life, then entrepreneurship may not be for you. If you feel a strong urge to make decisions and issue orders, this can be a glimmer of entrepreneurship.

Entrepreneurship is hard work. Entrepreneurship is about indecision, insecurity, instability, and something on the verge of insanity. Therefore, none of this is for you. There really is nothing particularly pleasant about it. But, it seems ironic, in hard work you can find a certain pleasure. Humans are made for hard work, and it brings rewards.

It’s cliche to say “work smart, not hard.” But here’s the rude reality: You must work smart and hard. Entrepreneurship isn’t a bag of smart tricks. It’s smart tricks combined with heart-pounding hard work. If you don’t like working hard at all — and having fun with it — then the entrepreneurial life is not for you.

Think quickly about all your relationships with other people. Any interpersonal problems? A breakup? A shouting match? An argument? No? None? Okay, that’s settled. You’re probably not an entrepreneur.

As it turns out, entrepreneurs are not the ones who smile broadly, slap you on the back, happily do business with you, as it might seem. Entrepreneurs strive to reach the boundaries of social behavior and cultural norms. So, if you are sometimes labeled as a “geek”, boring, or rude, don’t be nervous about it. Instead, go do what you were meant to do — start a business or two.

Putting aside for a short moment the dichotomy of pessimism and optimism, how do you see the world around you? It’s okay, is there anything you would like to improve? Entrepreneurs see things that need improvement. They see directions for change. They see a world that is still not perfect. Elon Musk was the one who wanted to fix the world. He was not happy with the online payment methods. That’s why he launched PayPal. He was not happy with the space exploration crisis. Therefore, he created SpaceX. He saw the problem of dependence on traditional energy sources. Say hello to SolarCity, Tesla Energy, Hyperloop, and Tesla Motors.

Look at the world. What do you see? No changes needed? If that’s the case, you probably don’t see a pressing need to start a business.

Entrepreneurship is counter-cultural because contemporary society tends to discourage risk-taking. We conflate protection with progress. The cultural “we” smiles approvingly at a closed environment, a safe solution, a safe investment, assets, and cups that don’t pour hot coffee on us.

This is all quite normal. But in moments of honesty, we understand that some risk is necessary for life and even useful. The mainstream obsession with safety and security tends to denude life of its natural and healthy risk.