I’ve just completed the first course in the Kauffman/Entrepreneurial Learning Experience Course “Mindset: Tapping Your Entrepreneurial I.Q.” and got a few gems out of it. First are two brilliant quotes that I plan on adding to the banner of the blog some day. I actually have several pages of quotes that I’ve come across that I think that you would really enjoy but I haven’t had the time to add them. Second are the debunking of some persistent myths about why some entrepreneurs are so successful. Third is the four stages of competence; not new to me but I enjoyed how they presented it. Finally, what makes this course so valuable and special are the interviews with the entrepreneurs. I mean, these people have lived it and God bless them for sharing with us.
Quotes
Calvin Coolidge – “Nothing in this world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more uncommon that unsuccessful people with talent.
Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb.
Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts.
Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent.”
Mark Twain – “It ain’t what you don’t know that gets you into trouble. It’s what you know for sure that just ain’t so.”
Myths
Common myths of essential elements for Entrepreneurial Success include that to be an entrepreneur you have to have:
1. Money
2. MBA
3. Revolutionary Idea
4. Luck/privilege
5. Rare Talent
I’ve already posted on some myths about entrepreneurship but what was really fascinating was hearing just how diverse the sample entrepreneurs backgrounds were. One thing I heard over and over was that they help people solve their problems, something to keep in mind in my own endeavors.
Four Stages of Competence
My version of the four stages of competence
1. Unconscious incompetence – you just don’t know how ignorant you are
2. Conscious incompetence – you know you’re ignorant, you’re just too incompetent to do anything about it
3. Conscious competence – if you really work you’re ass off you can at least look competent
4. Unconscious competence – you’re so damn good you don’t even have to think about it
I’m off to take the second lesson of the course tonight and hope to have the highlights of that up tomorrow.
