It’s back to school time and in honor of the season, I’ll be posting a series of blogs that share insights from some of my favorite teachers!
As I say in my book, the first practice in the entrepreneur’s journey of mastery is understanding yourself. This is a crucial and ongoing process of deepening self-awareness. Tasha Eurich, author of Insight, defines self-awareness as, “the ability to see ourselves clearly – to understand who we are, how others see us, and how we fit into the world around us.” Without self-awareness one cannot be discerning to make decisions in their best interest.
If you only listen to what your customers want without considering your own needs, priorities and capabilities there’s a good chance you’ll resent your entrepreneurial endeavors
When I started my business over 6 years ago, I planned to offer sustainability consulting services. I had conceived of a service that I was very excited about called Integrate Green Now, which focused on helping organizations integrate their sustainability practices into their existing systems and processes.
I quickly learned that no one wanted to pay me for that service. Instead they asked me about calculating the ROI of lighting retrofits in their buildings. The sustainability services they were asking for did not fit my passions nor my strengths. Customers wanted an engineer and I had no interest in being one.
Understanding myself, my passions, my strengths and even my weaknesses has empowered me to best navigate the many pivots I’ve had to endure in my business. As Steve Blank says, “no business plan survives first contact with customers.”
If you only listen to what your customers want without considering your own needs, priorities and capabilities there’s a good chance you’ll resent your entrepreneurial endeavors. After all, the Misfit Entrepreneur wants to build a
business that enables you to be true to yourself while earning an income.
Tasha Eurich has conducted extensive research on the subject of self-awareness, which she reviews in her book, Insight. Here are five questions she posses in the appendix to help readers better understand their passions. These are great reflection questions to ponder in your journal and can serve as a means to measure your opportunities against your passions. That way you don’t chase a soul sucking opportunity just for the sake of making money.
What kind of day would make you leap out of bed in the mornings?
What types of projects or activities do you never seem to get sick of?
What types of projects or activities do you find least enjoyable?
If you retired tomorrow, what would you miss most about your work?
What are your hobbies and what do you like about them?
What’s Rosabella Consulting Up To?
Did I mention that it’s back to school time!?!? And that means we are reviving EntrepreNerds Book Discussions. Save the Date, 9/27 from noon-1:30pm (brown bag lunch), where we will discuss Tasha Eurich’s new book, Insight: Why We’re Not as Self-Aware as We Think, and How Seeing Ourselves Clearly Helps us Succeed at Work and in Life as well as A Misfit Entrepreneur’s Guide to Building a Business Your Way by yours truly. The topic we will explore is: From Worst Enemy to Greatest Ally: The Subtle Art of Getting Out of Your Own Way.
