Are you an Entrepreneur?

There are definitions for the word “Entrepreneur” which you can find on the web any time you wish. Most of them are written by academics and wordsmiths, who know a lot more about language than I do. There are also many common uses for the word, and probably different meanings in different countries. But a basic type of entrepreneurial personality has existed since time began.

The personality is complex and sometimes shunned by society. Entrepreneurs, (E’s from here on), often question teachers as children, disobey what seem to them as mundane rules, act a little bit quirky, continuously want to sell things to their friends, or anyone who will listen to them, and generally have a great curiosity and enthusiasm for life. If you have ever seen the 1998 animated film “A Bug’s Life” you will remember the main character Flik. Flik did not conform, he had crazy ideas, and persisted with his many inventions. He succeeded in the end, but along the way he had many, many mishaps and failures, and that’s because, most of all, E’s take RISKS.

A lot of E’s these days use technology to advance their dreams, but you don’t have to understand technology to have the entrepreneurial spirit. You are an E if you are inspired by something, anything at all, and want to promote it, develop it, sell it, or change society with it. Like me, your heroes may be people, or stories, or things that perhaps have nothing to do with your main dream.

I was first inspired by someone who has been long forgotten. His name is Harry Butler, an Australian naturalist who first appeared on TV in Australia in 1976, promoting and teaching about Australian Wildlife. And like most E’s, he did something completely different as well, he co-wrote a song with Rolf Harris!

I was 11 yrs old when Harry Butler entered the scene, in years to come I started an Eco-Tourism business of my own and travelled all over Australia. Just like I had always dreamed. But more of that to come ….