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Recently, I found myself in a Mexican desert doing
things like walking backwards off an eight story
cliff and trying to get a scorpion out of my backpack.
Two of my last three vacations have been with Outward
Bound. If you're not familiar with Outward Bound,
just imagine the opposite of Club Med; instead of
Pina Coladas, you get powdered milk. And without
going into detail about the facilities, let's just
say a Port-o-potty would've been a luxury.
My most recent Outward Bound experience involved
"rappelling" down an eight story rock
face. The other was a climb to the summit of Mt.
Massive -- the second highest peak in the Rockies.
While it's never easy rationalizing a vacation that
may cause bleeding, at least now my day-to-day business
challenges don't seem quite as frightening. As a
self-employed ad exec who deals with entrepreneurial
fear on a regular basis I'm constantly seeking out
ways to handle my fear and keep things in perspective.
Self-employment, and business in general, is often
resisted by entrepreneurs who have a special non-business
talent. It's that old left brain-right brain thing.
I once worked with a creative director who couldn't
even handle wearing a suit for a whole day. The
day of a big meeting he'd come to work in his traditional
T-shirt and jeans and minutes before the meeting
he'd jump into his office, shut the door, and emerge
in a suit. It was like watching Superman. The second
the meeting was over he'd jump back into his office,
rip off the suit, and get back into his T-shirt.
Clearly, some folks have a problem with the business
side. Unfortunately, no matter how great your skill
or talent is, you will experience only limited success
without developing a good head for business.
Some people argue that you can simply hook up with
a good business partner. No doubt these people assume
the business partner will be someone who's totally
trustworthy and have only your best interests in
mind (yeah, right). Based on my experience, I'd
suggest that even if you do get a partner, it's
important to develop your business acumen -- and
the more, the better. Keep in mind that people like
Madonna, Spielberg, Seinfeld and McCartney, are
successful in big part because they've learned how
to become savvy business people.
So, how does one learn? Books, articles (like this),
courses and lectures are all helpful. Or, if you're
like me, walking off a cliff. But perhaps the best
teacher is experience. So, if you really want to
learn it, like the ad says: "Just do it."
And, if you do, you will discover two things:
1) Anyone can become a good business person.
2) Being a good business person doesn't mean you'll
never find a scorpion in your backpack.
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