O'Connor Bootstrap Podcast

I explain the reason for the change of the podcast name and explain what bootstrapping is, and how I can help.

For past podcast episodes and blogs please visit atheoz.com

“ “Perhaps he also thought that you were Saruman," said Gimli. "But you speak of him as if he was a friend. I thought Fangorn was dangerous.

"Dangerous!" cried Gandalf. "And so am I, very dangerous: more dangerous than anything you will ever meet unless you are brought alive before the seat of the Dark Lord. And Aragorn is dangerous, and Legolas is dangerous. You are beset with dangers, Gimli son of Glóin; for you are dangerous yourself, in your own fashion. Certainly, the forest of Fangorn is perilous—not least to those who are too ready with their axes; and Fangorn himself, he is perilous too; yet he is wise and kindly nonetheless." “-J.R.R. Tolkien The Two Towers

This is one of my favorite quotes, as it reminds me that being dangerous is not a bad thing in and of itself. It is how you are dangerous. This is somewhat of a follow up to my last post. You need to be dangerous to get anything done. Like a good kitchen knife, if it is dull it is useless. It needs to be razor-sharp to be used effectively and this is very dangerous. Used well it can feed a family, used wrongly it can destroy one.

Being an entrepreneur in and of itself is dangerous. We risk much for a great reward and freedom. We need to be a danger to obstacles in our path, our competition and to whatever problem we are solving with our business. We also need to be able to protect our business against threats.

So you have done it. You have found your passion, started up a business and worked insanely hard. It has been a rough and long journey and you find that you are now a successful entrepreneur. Entrepreneurs play a key role in the overall economy, building wealth, bringing innovation and creating jobs just to name a few. These are important and powerful things for society as a whole.

Hopefully you have decided when starting to use this power wisely, but if you have not thought about it now is the time. At this point, you will be making an impact no matter what.

So in keeping with my current superhero them, let us look at one. Iron Man. I bet you thought I was going to bring up Spiderman. Yes, this phrase comes from his story but in this case, I think that Iron Man fits the type of power we as entrepreneurs wield.

Dave Ramsey uses a great example. Money is like a brick. It is amoral. It has no morals. You can take it and build a School with it, or you could put it through a window. The brick does not care. It is a brick. Having a lot of money does not make you good, having a lot of money does not make you evil. He also states that all having money does is amplify who you are. If your a good person, money gives you the ability to do great things. If you are a bad person you can do evil things.

This may sound basic however it is important. There is an idea out there that if you are wealthy especially as a businessman/entrepreneur you are somehow inherently greedy and thus evil. It does not matter if you give a lot to charity or employee hundreds if not thousands of people, some will see you as greedy simply because of your success.

Welcome back to my “Secondary Powers” series. Today I will be addressing a very dirty word. I hope this episode does not get flagged….

Discipline

Today’s core trait, or "Secondary Power", as it were, is to have a teachable spirit. In life and especially business its vital to continue to learn and grow every day. This is not just sitting idle and being willing to learn when lessons come your way, but active pursuit of growth and knowledge. As simple as this may seem, it actually pretty easy to become complacent, and or overconfident about the knowledge you already have.

Let us start with determination. When I first started out, there was a "Honeymoon" Phase. This initial excitement helped me push through the first small bumps in the road. However, after a few months, I came to the painful realization that reality did not match my dream very much. I still could see where I wanted to go, but it was going to be a much longer road then I first anticipated.

This is where my natural determination, or pure stubbornness if you ask my wife, came into play. Even though at times it was really hard, and at times I wanted to quit I pushed through. Yes while this does come naturally to me, it is still something I need to develop on a daily basis.

Things like integrity, determination, self-discipline, confidence, creativity and a willingness to learn are vital to success. Without these “Powers” success can be elusive, no matter how good of a product or service you offer. With them, you can succeed even with an average level of good or service. Now not everyone is born with these qualities, however, that is nothing to worry about. You can use your passion for your business to develop the qualities you lack.

Today I am going to start with a question. Who do you think is the most successful type of person in general. The hard driver who does not care who they step on, or the nice guy?