10 Signs You Might Be Cut Out for Entrepreneurship

I was walking at the park with a new friend last week and we got to talking about our careers and the paths that had gotten us to where we are today, professionally.

And I realized this: there's something in some of us that makes entrepreneurship--creating our own work in the world, being self employed--the most desirable option. For some of us, the only tolerable option.

Photo by Coolm36.

For others of us, the art of being self employed is not even ever a consideration. It's either not on our radar or just not on our list of socially or personally acceptable, viable options. The thought of designing a work life out of one's own talents and prospective clients' perceived needs...well, that just doesn't cross some people's minds.

So I asked myself: what ARE the characteristics of those of us who are likely to choose entrepreneurship?

Here are 10 signs you might be cut out for entrepreneurship:

1. You're an idea person. And not just a dreamy, impractical idea person, but someone who instinctively knows how to give an idea legs. You don't just sit around and say, wouldn't that be cool? You actually get out of your chair and make a plan to see if it's cool.

2. You're an incurable optimist. You believe that things generally work out for the best--even when things work themselves out in a way that others would perceive as a fail. You believe that every deep experience lends itself to learning.

3. You like change. You might even crave it. You'd rather shake things up than wallow or stagnate.

4. You're willing to sacrifice more than the average person would to take a chance on a dream working out. This means you see short and even medium-term sacrifices such as preferred housing, discretionary income, stability in some relationships, and a nice budget for clothing and groceries as all part of the bigger picture. You are willing to forgo some comfort and joy today to get to what you might be able to attain later.

5. You're a self-starter. And a good self-manager. You don't need someone looking over your shoulder--or dangling a paycheck--to get a job done. You don't even really need praise or encouragement. Your satisfaction comes primarily from the process of creation.

6. You bounce back easily. Your setbacks are very short-term and you somehow always find a way to rise again. Or, things always just seem to work out okay for you, even better than okay. Others might say you seem to have good luck, or good karma.

7. You don't dwell on things and people that are out of your control. {Or you get really mad or frustrated and then use it to fuel your next move or decision in a healthy, productive way.}

8. You speak as though the outcome you want already exists. You don't have delusions of grandeur and you're not a liar or a bull*hitter. But you know how to position yourself in the today to apprehend what hasn't happened yet in the time-space continuum most people can see. Whoh. That sounds a little crazy. But you're okay with that, because that's how you think. You don't have to be all loud about it, but it works for you.

9. You're your own toughest critic--and your own best friend. At different times, you need to be both.

10. You have an uncanny sense of when it's time to shift or make a change. You identify what's not working and are intent on finding a solution. Or you know when to quit, as so aptly described in The Dip, a book by one of my marketing heroes, Seth Godin. This trait can sometimes creep your friends and acquaintances out, as you jump from one Big Thing to another Big Thing without so much as a backward glance. But you always seem to know what you're doing.

Entrepreneurs, what characteristics or personality traits did I leave off the list? Leave a comment and tell me about it!

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