One of the reasons I love being and working with entrepreneurs is that they are full of ideas. They see possibility all around them. They are curious. They ask good questions. They wonder, “What if?”
However, the reason I MOST love working with entrepreneurs is the discipline and focus they bring to making their ideas a reality. They stick their neck out. They work hard. They do what it takes. When things go wrong, they pick themselves up and try a different way.
Some people work hard, but never in pursuit of something that really matters to them. They complain about their job, their boss, their customers. They feel stuck, and are unwilling or unable to envision something different and better.
Others have ideas – lots of them. But they too are stuck, as they are unwilling to take the ideas to the next level. They have lots of excuses. No time. No money. No support. The list of barriers can be endless.
The hard reality is that it takes both – the inspiration and the perspiration. What most people don’t understand is the amount of effort, focus and discipline that it takes to move something from idea to realization.
Thomas Edison is a great example. As one of the most prolific creators of our time, he held 1,093 patents. He is well known for the electric light bulb – and the breakthrough discovery of a filament that was long lasting. To find the right material took a decade of experimentation and a building 2 city blocks wide that housed over 8,000 various elements that MIGHT be used for this purpose. It was his bamboo fishing pole that ultimately provided the right material – a carbonized bamboo filament that provided long lasting light. These are his words about the creative process:
“Before I got through,” he recalled, “I tested no fewer than 6,000 vegetable growths, and ransacked the world for the most suitable filament material.”
“The electric light has caused me the greatest amount of study and has required the most elaborate experiments,” he wrote. “I was never myself discouraged, or inclined to be hopeless of success. I cannot say the same for all my associates.”
“Genius is one percent inspiration and ninety-nine percent perspiration.”
So yes, it does take both. But there is another thing that many people don’t understand. That is that once you’ve envisioned something worth doing, or aspire to create something, you don’t mind the perspiration so much.
