The amazing achievements of entrepreneurs are fueled by a motivation often unmatched in others, but the deep underlying source for that motivation is highly variable.
Interestingly enough, the prime motivation for entrepreneurs is almost never money. Of all entrepreneurs I talked to – and there have been hundreds – only two of them mentioned the prospect of money as a key motivation. All the others did not think that money was a crucial part of their choice to become an entrepreneur. Most entrepreneurs answer one of two ways: they have become entrepreneurs to make the world a better place, or they have become entrepreneurs to make people’s lives easier. These are very simple but very powerful statements.
Making the world a better place? That sounds like a huge goal. But, that’s exactly it. Entrepreneurship is not about a goal purposed by an individual. It’s about changing the behavior of many. It takes courage to say something like this, but that’s what entrepreneurship is all about. Many people think about this, few of them talk about it, and the entrepreneurial leader does it!
This is most powerful when talking about social entrepreneurship. I attended a presentation recently when somebody was introduced as “a person whose invention saves 1000s of lives”. I was blown away. I have done pretty cool stuff – there are devices flying in space that my team dreamed up and that have made remarkable first measurements in various places of our solar system.
That day, I envied that entrepreneur – thousands of lives! The device he developed, by the way, was some kind of low-cost surgical tool used in heart-surgery all over the word. “Thousands of lives.” – how empowering!
Improve people’s lives? I have been thinking a lot about two speakers of this semester’s distinguished innovator series. Both, Mr. Aaron Dworkin and Mr. John Barfield were very much driven by this motivation. In many cases, such a motivation is fueled by a deep sense of incompleteness or injustice that may characterize the youth of such entrepreneurs. They are very motivated to change their life and in so doing, they change the life of many others. They know about people they touch, they care about them deeply. Clearly, entrepreneurship is an emotional journey!
There is another motivation that can be highly powerful, but is not often talked about: fear of failure. Some of my very best and most successful friends achieve because they were told that they are unable to do so. There are two sides to this.
On the one hand, these are entrepreneurs who have fought their way out of a hole—they have undergone an incredible journey. Ten years ago they were picking fruit in China, today they are powerful innovators; they went to school in one of the most challenging districts in an inner city, and they are now highly successful.
On the other hand, such people are often plagued by the deepest insecurities and angst. Many will never understand. I know that from my personal experience. There are still nights when I wake up in panic, thinking that all the happiness in my family, all my professional success, everything I care about today – everything was just a dream. But, that makes me one of the most driven people around.
I still remember how the teachers of my high-school thought that people in my village, mostly made out of farmers were “… just too dumb!”, and they treated us like that. I remember how one teacher tried to talk me out of a university career: “Thomas, but you have to be very smart!”. Guess what, I was very smart, but he failed to recognize it because of his prejudice.
Today, that also makes me one of the most open-minded people around. I don’t have many pre-conceived ideas and conclusions about people. I see the drive in the eyes of some of our students! They are not going to fail. They are going to prove to the world who they can become! And, just like a running-back, they will keep their legs moving, even though they are bumping into things! They may fall, but they will get back up.
As a side note, that’s in part where the tremendous success of immigrants come from, especially immigrants from Asia. They are taking the chance that is given to them, and they will not stop achieving. That’s also the feeling I get talking to some of our US students who made it out of broken families, out of broken schools. I admire their courage and determination. I know how it feels to be ill-prepared for school – it’s like running after a train that keeps speeding up. It’s great to see how they won’t slow, how they find friends who reach out and help, and how they create success stories for the ages.
There are many reasons to become successful as an entrepreneur. But, some of the most important motivators for entrepreneurial success have very deep roots. We may not like to talk about them, but it is very important to know what they are and how they affect our behaviors. That’s how we can learn how to take the hand of cards we were dealt and do the absolute best with it.
