What Drives Entrepreneurs, and What Drives You?

What moves a business owner to create a brand new empire, to carve out their piece of the pie, and to change the face of commerce through his or her own vision? Instead of subjecting oneself to the volatile mercy of a market that is sure to take over the entrepreneur’s life, why not fall blissfully into the arms of monotony and work for somebody else?

Because they can’t. It’s just not in their DNA. Business owners are another breed, a horse of a different color (insert your cliché here), and they could never be satisfied with toiling to realize someone else’s dream. Being another breed of professional, the things that drive an entrepreneur is different from what drives most people.

Entrepreneurs Raise the Standard

When you need a certain product that you either can’t or don’t want to produce yourself, you have no choice but to get it from those businesses who have what you need. As long as a product meets a minimum standard, which can be a pretty low standard, most people are satisfied with that. What sets the entrepreneur apart from the majority of people is that they refuse to accept the status quo. Entrepreneurs look at the available options for a given product, and, deciding that it’s just not good enough, they create a better product.

We All See the Problem, But Entrepreneurs See the Solution

The whole world is being frustrated by everyday problems that bog down or complicate our lives. Part of the reason that entrepreneurs are so necessary is that, instead of jumping in with the masses and tolerating daily problems, they seek out the solutions and bring them into the real world.

They Love What They Do

Just about any visionary business owner who’s been in the game for a while will tell you that if you don’t love what you do, then you don’t have very much chance of achieving a high level of success. Fact is, you’ll most likely quit because running a business is perilous—especially one that is forging new territory—and it’s near impossible to weather the trials that come, without a deep sense of passion for what you do.

Capitalizing on Your Talents

So many people fail before they’ve even begun because they build their lives around a goal that is not meant for them. Our parents and other authority figures try to choose a career for us; we don’t trust ourselves to choose the work that we really want to do; and more importantly, it’s scary to put all you’ve got into building something new. Successful entrepreneurs have found a secret: They’ve discovered what they’re really good at and put their talents to work. If you dedicate all of your energy to developing and utilizing your talents—instead of spending all your time trying to do what someone else is meant to do—then you can be far more effective.