It all starts from your mind

I just finished listening a podcast featuring famed entrepreneur/private equity investor; Tom Perkins. Perkins started out his business career as an employee at the infant Hewlett Packard. Through his hard work, He managed to become the first manager of it’s newly formed computer division. Now, that division has sales of over a billion dollars. While at work, Perkins started his own business in the laser industry, making himself a multi-millionaire. Now, he is a full time private equity investor that has invested in companies such as genentech and google in their respective early years.

Later in the interview, he was asked what distinguished the entrepreneurs from silicon valley from the other parts of America and the world. His answer was simple yet stunning; in Silicon Valley every person knows, personally, someone successful. And they know that the “hot shot” isn’t that “hot”. So they say to themselves “if even that person could do it, iIdefinitely could.” This person will then have a burning desire to beat that successful person because he/she knows that it is possible. Thus, an entrepreneur is born.

For those of you out there who are aspiring entrepreneurs, try to meet with successful people and you will find out that YOU have more than what it takes to become great entrepreneurs. Once you’ve figured this out, you are already half the way.