The scenario is this, you're on your death bed and the question is presented to you, "What were your biggest regrets?".  So what do you say? That's the question that was answered recently in, Top 5 Regrets of the Dying. As I read through each of them I reflected on those areas in my own life.  Just look at the first one... 1. I wish I'd had the courage to live a life true to myself, not the life others expected of me. This was the most common regret of all. When people realize that their life is almost over and look back clearly on it, it is easy to see how many dreams have gone unfulfilled. Most people have had not honored even a half of their dreams and had to die knowing that it was due to choices they had made, or not made Wow, a powerful one for sure.  The commentary on it really gets to the heart of the issue.  I just wrote about our dreams here and how important it is to go after them. Some other interesting things to me were two of the other items..

In 1989 our company had a great idea for a completely new product.  Not only did we have an idea for a completely new product, but also a new business model that was going to allow us to build at a quality higher than anything on the market. We introduced both...and got nothing. No support. We had designed and engineered a completely new way of yachting in a product unlike anything else.  We took that new design to several dealers assuming they would be as excited about the new product as we were.  They weren't. In fact they said it would never sell. Faced with a product we were confident in and without a sales channel to sell it through we decided to create our own distribution network.  So that's what we did and in the process ushered in direct selling from manufacturer to customer. Now selling direct surely isn't something we invented there were even other boat companies doing it at the time.  However it was a business model that we had not initially wanted to explore.  We never thought we would be selling direct and be successful. That's the reality of being an entrepreneur.  Where you start isn't where you end up.  That's the beauty of creating something and having the courage to change it as you move along. Look at flickr, originally developed as a way to share screenshots for a game, now it's one of the largest consumer photo sharing sites. Look at Twitter, originally developed as an texting tool only, now a computer integrated communication platform. Look at Post It notes, originally a failed experiment by 3M researchers to find a stronger glue turned into one of their most successful products ever. It's not where you start that matters, its the fact you start. Speaking of start, download "10 Reasons Why Now Is The Best Time To Start Your Business" photo credit

"People don't start businesses because they want to, I explained. They start businesses because they have to--either for economic reasons or because they just can't bear to work for anybody else." This was a quote from a recent article Should MBA's start their own businesses? Could it be that people don't start businesses because they want to but instead because they "have" to? What About Economic Reasons No doubt this is a very big contributing factor.  Its something that can motivate many people to branch out on their own.  That motivation can either come by choice or by force. The problem with entrepreneurial endeavors being solely an economic one is that when then economics just aren't there then you will need something else to sustain you through the hard times. When your working and working and you just aren't seeing the monetary results you will need to be able to fall back on something to keep you going.  The question is what is that something? What About Working For Yourself Again this is another good idea in concept but one that fails to address reality.  Nobody truly works for themselves.  You have a partner, you answer to him. You get a loan, you answer to the banks.  You sell something, you answer to customers.  The notion that you will work for yourself as an entrepreneur just isnt reality. You want to work for yourself, become an artist.  You want to be an entrepreneur, prepare to work for someone. What About The Other Reasons Don't you want to start a business?  Not because you have to, but because you really want to?  Being passionate about something and using that passion to start a business is more often than not the main reason entrepreneurs do what they do. There's other reasons to, such as the challenge of trying something new, helping others, leaving a legacy and more. What about you, what reasons have you or do you want to start a business?

Curiosity may have killed the cat but without it you don't stand a chance at succeeding as an entrepreneur. Some of the questions I get about the path to success go like this; Should I go to college or start a business? Do I need to get an MBA in order to be successful?  Does the school I go to matter? Would the better investment be in a degree or using that money to start a business? If your dreams, goals or aspirations involve being an entrepreneur then no college, MBA's and degrees aren't necessary. What is though is a curiosity to learn new things. Why College Was Historically Important Colleges have historically been the most efficient way to educate the most people to prepare them for the widest spectrum of career opportunities.  The Internet has changed all that.  Knowledge is now distributed without the need of campuses, teachers, text books, classrooms and buildings. Today, gathering knowledge that is not only equal to, but superior than most College curriculum is available to all.  In fact if your interested in attending MIT, go ahead, all 1900 classes they offer are available to you for free. Its not just MIT either.  Want to attend Stanford, its available.  How about Carnegie Mellon, go ahead. All of this information can be had and the best part is it's for free.

By most peoples fears I live in a very dangerous place. Its the lightning capital of North America and leads all other locations around the world in shark attacks. However living in Tampa, FL really isn't all that dangerous. In fact where you currently are is much more dangerous.  The odds of dying from choking on food, drowning in your bathtub or being killed crossing the street are far greater than being killed by lightning or a shark. (On a positive note the odds of dating a supermodel or writing a New York Times best seller are way better than all of the above. Click here for more interesting odds) Fear Makes Cowards Of Us All I forgot who said that but it's so true.  Fear can cripple us instantly. My three girls, all under the age of 10, come running to me anytime we have a bad lightning storm. The loud noise, the bright flashes, the instant and startling way in which it all happens culminate to make for a very terrifying experience.  Unless you've been through it many times before like I have. My girls always ask me "how come you don't get scared?".  One word - experience. Right now you may be paralyzed with a great idea, a dream of starting a business and your left parked at inaction because of fear.  Fear of the what if and the unknown. Fear of how to get started, fear of the cost, fear of the outcome,  all of which stem from lack of experience.