On an episode of "Shark Tank," billionaire shark Mark Cuban turned incredulous when an entrepreneur told him he'd been developing his product for 12 years. Cuban said the man didn't think like an entrepreneur, but a "watchapreneur."
Many people dream about big, ambitious ideas. Some hope to create the latest technology craze or develop a world-changing app. Dreams are part of how to think like an entrepreneur. But they're still only a first step.
"Without concrete, actionable goals with set deadlines, those dreams stay as dreams, and they may never come to fruition," said Liz Elting, co-founder of TransPerfect, a translation services provider.
She says it is critical to give yourself the space to dream without limits or judgment. That way you can focus on what you are truly passionate about. At the same time, Elting reiterates, the silver bullet to success for an entrepreneur is always based on "actions driven by goals."
Think Like An Entrepreneur: Don't Focus On Something Totally New
Building the future isn't only done by creating a product out of thin air. It's also about building upon what already exists, Elting says.
She said someone who can think like an entrepreneur "sees a problem, no matter how small, and determines how to fix it."
"Think innovation, rather than invention," she said. "You don't have to be ahead of your time or even the most creative person in the room. I'm certainly not, and I was still able to build my business from the ground up starting in my college dorm room."
Elting shares her lessons and experience from her 30-year career in "Dream Big And Win: Translating Passion into Purpose and Creating a Billion-Dollar Business."
Taking Risks And Failing Is How To Think Like An Entrepreneur
Simply put, you cannot succeed without taking risks, Elting says. "If you want to pursue your passion and accomplish your dreams, you have to be bold," she said. "And failure is how we learn, how we grow and how we get better."
That is all part of how to think like an entrepreneur. Most successful people failed before they succeeded, she adds. Behind every great success, there's a long list of failures it took to get there.
On your road to success, wherever you are on that journey, take a risk, Elting said. "Maybe you'll fail, and maybe that failure will be the very thing that brings you to your dreams."
Fast Forward One Year
Imagine yourself one year from today, says Wendy Leshgold. What does extraordinary success look like?
Leshgold co-founded and is president of the Fast Forward Group, a leadership development company. Fast Forward has coached over 100,000 professionals from companies such as Alphabet, Meta Platforms and Amazon.
How do you think like an entrepreneur? Create a vivid, detailed and exciting vision of what you will have achieved personally and professionally one year from now, she says.
Write It Down To Think Like An Entrepreneur
Numerous studies show dreams and goals are more likely to happen when committed to paper.
Don't give yourself a laundry list of boring, uninspired goals filled with jargon, Leshgold says. Instead, "Be bold and consider what would make you feel that this was one of your best years."
Gaining true clarity about what you want in your whole life is one of the power principles Leshgold wrote about with co-author Lisa McCarthy in "Fast Forward: 5 Power Principles To Create The Life You Want In Just One Year."
Examine What Is Holding You Back In Business And In Life
The negative, disempowering stories the brain makes up about ourselves, other people and events are one of the biggest hurdles to creating the life we want, McCarthy says. McCarthy is also a co-founder and CEO of the Fast Forward Group.
Many of us breathe life into negative thoughts by inherently believing them. "But they're rarely based on facts," McCarthy said.
Another of their five power principles is overcoming limiting beliefs and disempowering stories. "You have zero control over other people and many circumstances, but you have 100% control of your perspective," McCarthy said.
