The Entrepreneurial Spirit of Possibility

I love working with entrepreneurs! They are amazingly creative, passionate and completely oblivious to failure. And I don’t mean they are ignorant or Polly Anna’s or stuck in some fairly tale. It’s just that they have an entirely different perspective on life.

Here’s what I mean. December 2008 I received an email from a friend and client. He sends out a monthly email to his clients and prospects and this one was a little different. It contained a link and he urged us to “read the eight comments in the link below from some of the sharpest minds on the planet.” Well, I did but after about the fourth one I stopped. I simply do not know what to do with this type of information so I just stopped reading.

I zipped him back a note and said, “This is too depressing to read. Can’t you send something happier???” His response back to me was “Well, one can choose to face reality or ignore it. I typically avoid the “head in the sand” approach…but, that said, I’ll forward ’something happier’ soon.” To be honest, I didn’t know what to say to this either so I just let it go.

Later that week we visited in person and he told me that my response was very typical of  the entrepreneurs he works with. And that he got just the opposite response from his corporate clients – they were all very appreciative of the information and eager for more. Which I guess means they know what to do with this information. Not sure.

The same week that I was asked to read from the above link — The 8 really, really scary predictions, I had four appointments. Three with existing clients and one new prospect. All four appointments were beaming with excitement as they each had a new project they were about to launch. I suspect these four people never read The 8 really, really, scary predictions. They probably do not watch the news or read much of the newspapers. I also know they are all focused intensely on value and serving their clients. They have excellent reputations and relationships. They spend their days  solving problems for their clients.

So, what shall we do about the times we’re in?

As far as I can tell, the laws of nature can give us some direction. I know for certain that the things you put your attention on tend to grow or become more prominent in your life. It’s just like Einstein said to Heisenberg in  1926 – it’s nonsense to found a theory based on observable facts alone: “In reality the very opposite happens. It is theory that decides what we observe.”

So maybe it’s as simple as coming up with a theory you like, then making a conscious effort to observe it.

I’m going to start with my company’s vision and tag line. I want them to be the same. Our old one was “Helping innovative companies implement great marketing ideas.” It’s okay but I’m looking for something more, well, more visionary.

So, here’s what I’ve come up with:

“Sparking possibility. Realizing potential. Communicating the brilliance of people and business.” **

Yes, that’s what I want for my company and my life. I want to be a spark of possibility. I want to enroll our clients into their own possibility then help them share their brilliance with the world.

Here are some others we came up with or found:

Leifers – the possibility of love, caring and nurturing in every day.

National Signs – the possibility of more meaningful communication for the world.

Commodity Trading Show – an experience of truly being alive.

IBM – let’s build a smarter planet.

Best Friends Pet Rescue – A better world through kindness to animals.

So now I’m going to go and observe prosperity and possibility. And I’ll share what I find with you.

** A very special thank you to my dear friend and asociate, Dusty Gilbert, for her help in perfecting this vision statement. Thank you Dusty!