Who Inspires You?

Here's something to think about if you're a small business owner trying to figure out your "brand", your business mission, and your strengths as an entrepreneur. 

Grab a piece of paper and make a list of people who inspire you.  Then dig further to find the qualities you admire most in these people.  Chances are, these are the qualities you most want to emulate in your personal life and in business. (Personally, I can't separate the two - if my values in each are not aligned, I cannot fake it.)

Once 20 + years ago, in my first job out of college, I was the director of a group home for developmentally disabled women. At an employee banquet, one year, we were given silly joke awards based on our weaknesses. My weakness was that I was "not assertive enough in my job." My joke award was the "Mahatma Gandhi Pacifist Award", a funny poke at my nonconfrontational manner and desire to always keep peace, sometimes at my own expense. At the time, I felt bad. From my very first job in the real world, I had a "label" - Ann is not assertive. Ann is not a leader. Ann can't handle conflict. Ann is a wimp.  Ann is a pushover. 

Just yesterday in the middle of all my anxious thoughts about work, step-parenting and the usual sort of "what is my life mission" questions I ponder daily, the Gandhi award just popped into my mind. And I realized that the qualities I valued most were the very ones I was minimizing in my life. All of my adult life, I was writing them off as unimportant or invalid. And every conventional job I've had since then has provided me with evidence that peacefulness, responsibility, BEing the change you want to see were all unimportant. Duh! I've just been doing the wrong work!

Then yesterday it struck me that these are not liabilities at all - I've just been thinking of these qualities in a way that doesn't serve me anymore. Poof. Total shift in 24 hours. It was one of those hit-me-over-the-head epiphanies that made me want to run around yelling and buying margaritas for everyone.

How does this affect my business and its direction?  Easy.  The Gandhi thing ("my message is my life") speaks to me on many levels: work, my relationships, parenting, my writing, how I care for my body, etc.   It's all intertwined for me as I suspect it is for many entrepreneurs who leave the conventional 9-5 work life because we feel like misfits.  If we are to succeed as entrepreneurs we must be crystal clear about our visions. 

Here's one way to start:  who/what inspires YOU?  Can you distill your list down to specific qualities/values? 

Comments

[Des Walsh]

Ann
Great post, should be required reading for everyone who takes the plunge to be a solopreneur. That's when we are really testing ourselves, so we need to have a very good to excellent understanding of who we are, our values and who we aspire to be (or be like :) ).
Des

[Darren Rowse]

Excellent post Ann - very...err....inspiring!

[Laura Howard]

Wow! I've just discovered you and I feel like I've just met a kindred spirit! As a peace lover, I've been told that I wear "harmony as a tumor"! Someone has to be passionate about it!
I also have "Be The Change you want see" written in window paints on the back window of my SUV! And I am so conscious that it's a reminder to me as I drive around! :)

Thanks!