EE 038: How to Nurture Your EXECUpreneurial Spirit

If you are continually looking at the world around you and seeing it the way you want it to be, rather than how it is, this is your EXECUpreneurial Spirit waiting to be unleashed. This is because at the core of the EXECUpreneurial Spirit is the ability to wonder what’s possible.

The EXECUpreneurial Spirit is usually boiled down to the six P’s: Passion, Path, Positivity, People, Perseverance, and Productivity. I’m not a fan of the word passion in this context.  Passion is fleeting.  Ask anyone who has been “in love”…now, I’m not dissing the lovebirds, I’m merely pointing to the fact that passion comes and goes.  I prefer curiosity over passion. So, I’ll dive into the five P’s with a C. 

Curiosity (in lieu of Passion)

Passion is the fire that drives you. It is why you want to become an EXECUpreneur. It is what gives you the motivation to engage in whatever venture you wish to participate. It is the need that you have to make a difference in the world around you.  But it won’t see you through the obstacles that lie in wait at any given moment of a day in the life of an EXECUpreneur. 

Here’s where curiosity steps in.  As you set out on your EXECUpreneurial journey, you need to take the time to figure out what you are genuinely curious about. When you tie your curiosity to a business idea, it will help to fuel your drive to succeed. Without curiosity, I will venture to say, you will never find real EXECUpreneurial success or freedom.

The idea behind every successful business is the need to solve a problem. By tying your curiosity to that problem, you will stack the deck in favor of EXECUpreneurial success.

Path

While it is your curiosity that motivates you, a path provides the roadmap for actualizing your business idea.  This is critical.  If you bounce from shiny object to shiny object, you’ll crash and burn.  A written path (business plan and supporting milestones or goals) will ensure that when you run into challenges and experience setbacks, you will persevere.

When you have a path to follow, and you follow it, you will be able to attain the success you desire.  A clear path allows you to take impactful action and be productive.  This is where a mentor is invaluable.

Business success doesn’t come easy. When you have a roadmap, taking action is more natural.  This results in being able to achieve business success with greater ease. Your path should detail all the things that you need to do to manifest business success.  Channel your inner detail diva (or dude), or have a partner who is adept at the details stuff. 

Like a strong “Why”, this is not optional. 

Positivity

Positivity touches and influences everything we do in business, as well as life. If you establish a company then anticipate, expect even, for it to fail, you’ve ultimately created a self-fulfilling prophecy.  There’s a lot of science behind this, but it boils down to attracting what you manifest through your thoughts. If the views about your business are negative, you will see negative growth as a result.

Practicing the power of positivity, especially when you face challenges and setbacks, will permeate every aspect of your business. Your positive thoughts will help you find innovative solutions to even the most demanding of problems.

People

To be a successful EXECUpreneur, you have to look for and build strong networks. Your success as an EXECUpreneur hinges on your ability to connect and interact with people. This includes suppliers, employees, business colleagues, mentors, and other people around you. Without a support system, your passion for your business will falter, along with your motivation to implement the steps on your path. Curiosity will outlive passion, but unless it is fed, it too will wane.  Your support system will help keep you motivated, cheer you on during difficult times, celebrate the good stuff, hold you accountable, and mentor you. This will help make your journey to EXECUpreneurial success worthwhile.

Throughout your EXECUpreneurial journey, you need to build a robust support system that consists of more than your employees and immediate family. You need to learn how to become a proficient networker and understand the importance of attending social networking events, along with connecting online. Networking like a pro takes a ton of practice, but given enough time you can become a networking star and build a strong group of connections for your business success.

Perseverance

EXECUpreneurs who are successful, got that way because they have never given up on their dreams. The very nature of an EXECUpreneur is not complementary to the spirit of giving up or giving in. If you lack the ability to stare hardships in the face and shrug off challenges you encounter, you will never achieve business success because hard work and perseverance are what it takes to be successful.

Your business success hinges on your ability to look failure in the face and find the courage to trudge forward until you’ve accomplished your goals. This requires you to increase your grit and perseverance.

Productivity

The one thing that will determine how fast or how slow you achieve business success, is your ability to use your time well. If rather than working on the steps outlined in your path, you aimlessly scroll your social media feeds, watch videos on YouTube, or spend your day surfing the web, it will take you years to achieve success as an EXECUpreneur…if you ever even get there.

Achieving success as an EXECUpreneur takes a lot of hard work. The hard work that you do has to be laser-focused because if you lack focus, achieving success will take longer.  And you’ll more than likely spin your wheels for a very long time.  You have to focus on completing one task at a time, along with minimizing distractions and procrastination.

When you foster these six EXECUpreneurial behaviors, you will begin to see business opportunities everywhere around you.  More importantly, you’ll be able to capitalize on these opportunities because you will be in the right mindset.  The EXECUpreneur’s EDGE will prepare you to take advantage of these opportunities when the timing is right.