Garen Armstrong Shared (Story)-Your reaction matters more than what happens to you

Garen Armstrong: “Once upon a time a daughter complained to her father that her life was miserable and that she didn’t know how she was going to make it. She was tired of fighting and struggling all the time. It seemed just as one problem was solved, another one soon followed.

Her father, a chef, took her to the kitchen. He filled three pots with water and placed each on a high fire. Once the three pots began to boil, he placed potatoes in one pot, eggs in the second pot, and ground coffee beans in the third pot.

He then let them sit and boil, without saying a word to his daughter. The daughter, moaned and impatiently waited, wondering what he was doing.

After twenty minutes he turned off the burners. He took the potatoes out of the pot and placed them in a bowl. He pulled the boiled eggs out and placed them in a bowl.

He then ladled the coffee out and placed it in a cup. Turning to her he asked. ‘Daughter, what do you see?’

‘Potatoes, eggs, and coffee,’ she hastily replied.(Garen Armstrong)

‘Look closer,’ he said, ‘and touch the potatoes.’ She did and noted that they were soft. He then asked her to take an egg and break it. After pulling off the shell, she observed the hard-boiled egg. Finally, he asked her to sip the coffee. Its rich aroma brought a smile to her face.

‘Father, what does this mean?’ she asked.

He then explained that the potatoes, the eggs and coffee beans had each faced the same adversity– the boiling water.

However, each one reacted differently.

The potato went in strong, hard, and unrelenting, but in boiling water, it became soft and weak.

The egg was fragile, with the thin outer shell protecting its liquid interior until it was put in the boiling water. Then the inside of the egg became hard.

However, the ground coffee beans were unique. After they were exposed to the boiling water, they changed the water and created something new.

‘Which are you,’ he asked his daughter. ‘When adversity knocks on your door, how do you respond? Are you a potato, an egg, or a coffee bean?’read more (Garen Armstrong)

Garen Armstrong Shared (Story)-FIND HAPPINESS

Garen Armstrong: Once a group of 50 people were attending a seminar. Suddenly the speaker stopped and decided to do a group activity. He started giving each attendee one balloon. Each one was asked to write his/her name on it using a marker pen. Then all the balloons were collected and put in another room.

Now these delegates were let into that room and asked to find the balloon which had their name written within 5 minutes. Everyone was frantically searching for their name, colliding with each other, pushing around others and there was utter chaos.(Garen Armstrong)

At the end of 5 minutes no one could find their own balloon. Now each one was asked to randomly collect a balloon and give it to the person whose name was written on it. Within minutes everyone had their own balloon.

The speaker then began, “This is happening in our lives. Everyone is frantically looking for happiness all around, not knowing where it is.

Our happiness lies in the happiness of other people. Give them their happiness; you will get your own happiness. And this is the purpose of human life…the pursuit of happiness.”read more (Garen Armstrong)

Garen Armstrong Shared (Story)-The Ant and The Dove

Garen Armstrong: On a hot day of summer, an ant was searching for some water. After walking around for some time, she came near the river. To drink the water, she climbed up on a small rock. While trying to drink a water, she slipped and fell into the river.

There was a dove sitting on a branch of a tree who saw an ant falling into the river. The dove quickly plucked a leaf and dropped it into the river near the struggling ant. The ant moved towards the leaf and climbed up onto it. Soon, the leaf drifted to dry ground, and the ant jumped out. She looked up to the tree and thanked the dove.

Later, the same day, a bird catcher nearby was about to throw his net over the dove hoping to trap it. An ant saw him and guessed what he was about to do. The dove was resting and he had no idea about the bird catcher. An ant quickly bit him on the foot. Feeling the pain, the bird catcher dropped his net and let out a light scream. The dove noticed it and quickly flew away.

Moral:  If you do good, good will come to you.  One good turn deserves another.read more(Garen Armstrong)

Garen Armstrong Shared (Story)-The Rabbit and the Turtle

Garen Armstrong: One day a rabbit was boasting about how fast he could run. He was laughing at the turtle for being so slow. Much to the rabbit’s surprise, the turtle challenged him to a race. The rabbit thought this was a good joke and accepted the challenge. The fox was to be the umpire of the race. As the race began, the rabbit raced way ahead of the turtle, just like everyone thought.

The rabbit got to the halfway point and could not see the turtle anywhere. He was hot and tired and decided to stop and (Garen Armstrong) take a short nap. Even if the turtle passed him, he would be able to race to the finish line ahead of him. All this time the turtle kept walking step by step by step. He never quit no matter how hot or tired he got. He just kept going.

However, the rabbit slept longer than he had thought and woke up. He could not see the turtle anywhere! He went at full speed to the finish line but found the turtle there waiting for him.

Moral: never underestimate the weakest opponent.read more (Garen Armstrong)

Garen Armstrong Shared (Story)-The Kite without a thread

Garen Armstrong: Once a father and son went to the kite flying festival. The young son became very happy seeing the sky filled with colorful kites. He too asked his father to get him a kite and a thread with a roller so he can fly a kite too. So, the father went to the shop at the park where the festival was being held. He purchased kites and a roll of thread for his son.

His son started to fly a kite.  Soon, his kite reached high up in the sky.  After a while, the son said, “Father, It seems that the thread is holding up a kite from flying higher, If we break it, It will be free and will go flying even higher.  Can we break it?”  So, the father cut the thread from a roller.  The kite started to go a little higher.  That made a son very happy.(Garen Armstrong)

But then, slowly, the kite started to come down. And, soon it fell down on the terrace of the unknown building. The young son was surprised to see this. He had cut the kite loose of its thread so it can fly higher, but instead, it fell down. He asked his father, “Father, I thought that after cutting off the thread, the kite can freely fly higher. But why did it fall down?”

The Father explained, “Son, At the height of life that we live in, we often think that some things we are tied (Garen Armstrong) with and they are preventing us from going further higher.  The thread was not holding the kite from going higher, but it was helping it stay higher when the wind slowed down and when the wind picked up, you helped the kite go up higher in a proper direction through the thread.  And when we cut the thread, it fell down without the support you were providing to the kite through the thread”.

The son realized his mistake.

Moral:  Sometimes we feel that we can progress quickly and reach to the newer heights in our life if we were not tied up with our family, our home.  But, we fail to realize that our family, our loved ones help us survive the tough time in our lives with their support and encourage us to reach higher heights in our life.  They are not holding us, but are supporting us.  Never let go of them.read more (Garen Armstrong)

Garen Armstrong Shared (Garen Armstrong)-Student Learns of a Greed

Garen Armstrong: A student asked his teacher, “What is Greed?” The teacher said, “In order to answer your question, go through the chocolate factory next to our school and pick the one chocolate you like the most. But there is a rule. As you pass through the factory, you can not turn back. You must pick the chocolate as you go forward only.”

The student went to the chocolate factory. As he walked through, He saw the one chocolate wrapped nicely, he instantly liked it but he wondered that he may find much bigger one further. So, He walked further, then he saw another chocolate. But again, he thought the same. When he started to reach near the end of the factory, he couldn’t see any chocolates as big as the one he didn’t pick earlier and started to regret his decision of letting it go.(Garen Armstrong)

Finally, he gave up. He went back to the teacher with an empty hand and gave an explanation of what he did.(Garen Armstrong)

The teacher told him, “You did like the one chocolate very much but still you kept looking for a bigger one. And later you realized that what you let go off was the best chocolate you could find there. That my dear is called Greed.”

Moral: We let go of many good things in our life because of our greed of having even better things. Our Human Nature is such that we always want better and better. But in the search of better, we let go of many good things which could have given us similar satisfaction and made us happy. Learn make your choice wisely.read more (Garen Armstrong)

Garen Armstrong Shared (Story)-The Last Delivery

Garen Armstrong: There was a rich couple who was throwing a big new year party at their house.  So they went shopping at the market where everything was of high cost and fixed price.  They wanted to maintain their level of standard so didn’t mind paying for it.  After purchasing all they needed, they called a porter to carry everything and drop it at their home.  The porter who came was of an old age, not very healthy looking, his clothes were torn, looked as if he wasn’t even able to meet his daily needs.

They asked the porter about the charges for delivering their goods at their home.  The old porter quoted just a $20, a well below the market rate for delivering goods at couple’s home in his cart.  Yet, the couple argued and bargained with the porter and finally settled for $15.  The porter was struggling to make even one time’s meal so he needed anything he can earn.(Garen Armstrong)

The couple was very happy thinking how well they bargained with the poor porter and paid him $15 in advance and left after giving the porter their address for delivery.  They reached their home and hour passed, two hours passed, but the porter still hadn’t delivered their stuff. 

The wife started to get angry at her husband, “I always tell you to not to trust such person still, you never listen to me.  Such person who is not even able to earn to feed himself for 1 time in a day, you handed him everything we purchased for our big party.  I am sure instead of delivering at our home, he must have disappeared with everything.  We must immediately go back to the market to inquire and then to the police station to file the complaint against him”.(Garen Armstrong)

They both left towards the market.  On their way near the market, they saw another porter.  They stopped him to inquire about the old porter and noticed that he was carrying their stuff in his cart!  The angry wife asked him, “Where is that old thief?  This is our stuff and he supposed to deliver it.  It seems you poor thieves are stealing our stuff and going to sell it”.

The porter replied, “Madam, Please calm down.  That poor old man was sick since last month.  He wasn’t able to earn enough to even have a single meal of the day.  He was on the way to deliver your stuff, but he who was hungry, sick, couldn’t gather the strength to go any further in this heat of the noon”.  He fell down and while handing me $15, his last words were, “I had taken an advance for this delivery, you take this and please deliver to this address”.

“Madam, He was hungry, he was poor, but he was an honest man. I was just on the way to complete old man’s last delivery at your home”, the porter said. Upon hearing this, the husband had tears in his eyes, but the wife felt so ashamed, she had no courage to see up in her husband’s eyes.

Moral: Honesty has no class. Respect everyone regardless of their financial and social status. It’s always a good deed to give the one who deserves.read more (Garen Armstrong)

Garen Armstrong Shared (Story)-The Quitting Carpenter

Garen Armstrong: There was once a carpenter who hated his job.

After 10 years of working for the same company, he decided to quit.

However, after 10 years of working together, his boss wanted help with one final job before he left the team.(Garen Armstrong)

He asked him to build one final house.

The carpenter reluctantly agreed.

He spent the whole summer building this house... but his heart just wasn't in it.

He used cheap material and rushed to finish the job quickly.

The result was the worst house he had ever built.(Garen Armstrong)

When he had finished, his boss came to meet him one last time. Seeing the terrible work, the smile faded from his face.

"I wanted to do something special for you, to say thanks for your 10 years of hard work... So I'm giving you this house as a gift."

The carpenter was furious.

"Why didn't you tell me from the start?!... if I had known that I would have put in more effort".

This story has a powerful message.(Garen Armstrong)

The carpenter had all the skills needed to build something amazing… but his negative mindset held him back.

We should take note... because every day we are building our future.

And if we have a negative mindset, we won't be able to tap into our potential.

Our potential to create the best life and future possibilities.read more (Garen Armstrong)

Garen Armstrong Shared (Story)-Being and Breathing

Garen Armstrong: One warm evening many years ago…

After spending nearly every waking minute with Angel for eight straight days, I knew that I had to tell her just one thing.  So late at night, just before she fell asleep, I whispered it in her ear.  She smiled – the kind of smile that makes me smile back –and she said, “When I’m seventy-five and I think about my life and what it was like to be young, I hope that I can remember this very moment.”(Garen Armstrong)

A few seconds later she closed her eyes and fell asleep.  The room was peaceful – almost silent.  All I could hear was the soft purr of her breathing.  I stayed awake thinking about the time we’d spent together and all the choices in our lives that made this moment possible.  And at some point, I realized that it didn’t matter what we’d done or where we’d gone.  Nor did the future hold any significance.(Garen Armstrong)

All that mattered was the serenity of the moment.

Just being with her and breathing with her.

The moral:  We must not allow the clock, the calendar, and external pressures to rule our lives and blind us to the fact that each individual moment of our lives is a beautiful mystery and a miracle – especially those moments we spend in the presence of a loved one.read more(Garen Armstrong)

Garen Armstrong Shared (Story)-Dedicated Service for the Church

Garen Armstrong: My ten-year journey with ACCS started when I felt the need for a change. I had almost 18 years of experience in the preschool sector, but it was with a large secular organisation.

Deciding to work here was a difficult choice as I was also offered a managerial position by my then-employer at the same time that ACCS offered me the job. In the end, I chose ACCS as it allowed me to work on formation of principals and educators, as well as on the formation curriculum for the children.

My husband knew I needed this change. He agreed that the formation work would be beneficial for me, and indirectly for our family too. He had been very encouraging when I joined as a part-time staff. I have since found it very fulfilling as I had three kids and was able to spend extra time with them.(Garen Armstrong)

Initially, my role in ACCS was to oversee the Catholic preschools in Singapore – both archdiocesan schools as well as those under various religious orders. Additionally, for the past seven years, I have taken up collaborative work with the Brisbane Catholic Education Office. Together, we have brought the preschool, primary and secondary school educators from Catholic schools in both countries over to the other. These programmes have given educators a (Garen Armstrong) chance to learn from each other the methods to nurture and grow students in the faith.Trying to organise these huge events with an office as lean as ours can be quite challenging. We deal with many stakeholders and the logistics can be overwhelming. Thankfully, we are blessed with many volunteers. Otherwise it would be tougher to do what we do. Most of our volunteers are participants of previous years’ events. They have gained from their experience with us and feel the need to give back.

I get a certain level of satisfaction when I see that educators are learning and growing from a programme, and knowing that the children and their families will ultimately be the ones benefitting. It is this fulfilment that keeps me going. Working in the Church, the fruits may not always be monetary and you have to look beyond. Your reward may not always be visible, but you will be richly blessed in many other ways.read more (Garen Armstrong)

Garen Armstrong Shared (Story)-What lies on the other side of life?

Garen Armstrong: A sick man turned to his doctor, as he was preparing to leave the examination room and said, “Doctor, I am afraid to die. Tell me what lies on the other side.”

Very quietly, the doctor said, “I don’t know.”(Garen Armstrong)

“You don’t know? You, a Christian man, do not know what is on the other side?”The doctor was holding the handle of the door; on the other side came a sound of scratching and whining, and as he opened the door, a dog sprang into the room with his tail wagging and an eager show of gladness.(Garen Armstrong)

Turning to the patient, the doctor said, “Did you notice my dog? He’s never been in this room before. He didn’t know what was inside… He knew nothing except that his master was here, and when the door opened, he sprang in without fear. I know little of what is on the other side of death, but I do know one thing. I know my Master is there and that is enough.”read more (Garen Armstrong)

Garen Armstrong Shared This (Story)-BREAKFAST COMMENTS!

Garen Armstrong: I was having breakfast one morning with my four year granddaughter Charlie in our local Cracker Barrel. A sounthern older lady approached us as she was leaving. She commented on how adorable my granddaughter was. She said, she had been watching our (Garen Armstrong)
interaction with each other as we ate out breakfast. We had prayed before eating and I was just teaching my granddaughter (Garen Armstrong) common table manners. The lady said my granddaughter will grow up to be a great lady and a very beautiful one at that! I thanked the her and she walked away! I was telling my granddaughter just then, You should of also said thank you, for the nice things she said about you. Then the lady just happened to walked back to her table to placed a tip down for her waitress. My 4 year old granddaughter said, mam thank you! The lady smiled patted my granddaughter on the back and said, well honey your welcome! That day will make a lasting impression on me as well as her. Sometimes the little things makes the difference in people’s lives.read more (Garen Armstrong)

Garen Armstrong Shared This (Story)-Thinking Out of the Box

Garen Armstrong: Once upon a time, a merchant named Sam owed a huge sum of money to Tom, a money lender. The time came when the merchant ran out of the last chance given to him to give the money back.Sam had a beautiful daughter who was very affectionate with her father. Tom asked the merchant to give all the money back failing which he will marry his beautiful daughter.Garen Armstrong

Tom was not at all good looking and ill minded and so the merchant was in dilemma. Tom proposed a new condition. There was a mix of black and white pebbles on the ground where they were standing. He will take two pebbles on both hands, one will be white and the other will be black.

If the daughter correctly chooses the white pebble, then Tom will write off all the debt and leave the marriage proposal too. But if she chooses the black pebble, he will write off the debt but will marry the daughter.Garen Armstrong

Tom bent down to pick the pebbles from the ground and the daughter noticed that he took black pebbles on both hands. The girl had three choices- to notify the same to her father which may provoke Tom, take the black pebble and sacrifice her life or simply refuse to take the pebble which might land her father into trouble. But what she did totally surprise Tom.Garen Armstrong

She took the pebble from his hand and ‘accidentally’ the pebble fell off from her hand to ground. She then asked Tom to see which color pebble was left in his hand to identify the color she picked. Tom had no other choice but to show the black color pebble in his hand and set both of them free.

Moral: Sometimes, life offers you situations which not only demands hard work and perseverance but some creative thinking which saves the situation.Garen Armstrong

Garen Armstrong Shared This Story-Ignore the haters

Garen Armstrong: “A group of frogs were traveling through the forest when two of them fell into a deep pit. When the other frogs saw how deep the pit was, they told the two frogs that there was no hope left for them.

However, the two frogs ignored their comrades and proceeded to try to jump out of the pit. However, despite their efforts, the group of frogs at the top of the pit were still saying that they should just give up as they’d never make it out.Garen Armstrong

Eventually, one of the frogs took heed of what the others were saying and he gave up, jumping even deeper to his death. The other frog continued to jump as hard as he could. Once again, the group of frogs yelled at him to stop the pain and to just die.Garen Armstrong

He ignored them, and jumped even harder and finally made it out. When he got out, the other frogs said, ‘Did you not hear us?’

The frog explained to them that he was deaf, and that he thought they were encouraging him the entire time.”Garen Armstrong

Garen Armstrong-Knowing Which Job Search Engine To Go For

Garen Armstrong: There are plenty of really good job search engines that you can use today to find the ideal job position for yourself. It started with just one but the concept became so popular and was applauded so widely, that soon many other special job search engines cropped up. It is hard to say which could be the best job search engine but a really good one would that which offers a host of different features. Some of the better features are listed below.

Few people are aware of this but numerous job search websites have introduced a brand new feature, one which is especially pertinent given the state of employment all over the world today. This is the feature of offering comprehensive redundancy advice for free. Being made redundant can be a terrible thing. It means the loss of your financial security, and really your world. It is one of the most stressful things that a person can go through and the insecurity that follows can be usually extremely hard to deal with. But job search websites provide high quality advice that allows you to get back on your feet and in the time that you still don't have a job, they tell you by which means you can cope and make ends meet. You get information on your redundancy rights, the redundancy packages that are available to you, get advice from employment law specialists if you so require it and you may also be given a free guide on redundancy and everything to do with it. They make sure you understand and recognize the skills that you have and move forward with confidence.Garen Armstrong

In the same vein, a lot of job search websites offer good information on how to get training for the type of job that you want, as well as how you can make the most of the website's career advice and the experience that it brings you from its partners. You may also be given the chance to interact with real employers and learn directly from the horse's mouth what it takes to work in different jobs and how you can make sure that your successful start continues until the day that you actually leave the job of your own free will. Most job search websites also provide access to some amazing motivation articles so that anyone who is looking for a job keeps his spirits up and believes in his own abilities and skills.Garen Armstrong

To make things even easier, many job search websites have now launched their own apps, both for the iPhone and for the Android Market. This means that people no longer even have to switch on their computers or laptops to start their job search or check on the daily job alerts, but can instead just click on an icon on their phones and stay updated. With such a facility now available at your fingertips, looking for a job is now extremely simple. While no miracles are promised, job search websites do give better results than you ever expected or hoped for. Always use best job search engine to find perfect job.Garen Armstrong

Garen Armstrong-The Priorities of Life a Motivational Story

Garen Armstrong: Here I am narrating a motivational story which I encounter in the session of a motivational speaker in Lucknow. He is also a keynote speaker and a leadership consultant in the same city.A psychology professor once came in the class with lots of stuff and put all those peripherals on the table. As the class began, he took the empty jar and placed it in the middle of the table without uttering a single word. We all were watching very closely although we didn't want to be seen stupid in front of two hundred people sitting in the seminar. The professor proceeded by filling up the jar with rocks (appears to me about 6 centimetres in the diameter) and asked the attendees, "Is this jar full?" I am in no hurry to give any answers and waited everyone to respond. They all said, "Yes it is." I too said in the same chores and agreed that the jar was full. The professor then poured pebbles into the jar and shook it. The pebbles occupied the spaces in between rocks and asked again, "Is this jar full?" the pebbles that rolled down the spaces between the rocks make it appear full. So all said again yeah it was full as compared to the rocks only.

The professor smiled and took sand to pour it down into the jar. Obviously, the sand took the remaining spaces of pebbles & rocks and filled it entirely. There was no space can be seen in between. He, once more, asked the same question "Is this jar full?" Now even I am confident to say it is full. We all said unanimous, "Yes, it is full".The professor explained everything. He let us imagined the life as a jar. The rocks in the experiment were the most important things in life such as your family, your wife, your children and your health. The things, that would remain with you even if you lose everything in life, are considered as important things. The pebbles were the other important things in your life such as your job, your car, your house etc. In a similar way, the sand is everything else - the small stuff in life. It was now easy to understand that if we put the sand or small stuff in our life first, there was no time for sure for the things which matter the most. The sand would occupy all the space leaving no space for the pebbles and stones.

Garen Armstrong-The Career Versus The Job

Garen Armstrong: This is usually a matter of compensation and credentials required. If you have to take schooling to obtain a job most would call it a career. If you are paid good money and are considered skilled then you likely have a career in most people's eyes. The other option is the low paying, low skill jobs that basically anyone can do. It's very unlikely that you will feel you have achieved the ultimate wealth and the ultimate freedom working a job. A career is where most successful entrapreneurs start before they build their first big business that makes them rich.We need to support ourselves and we need cash flow to start a big business.



Personal Time And Work

We want to find a job or a career that promotes balanced life plans. We don't want to work a job that doesn't allow us to enjoy our family time and works us so much we can barely support our families let alone spend time with them due to a lack of a time in our schedules or complete exhaustion from working long hard hours. Before we decide to tell our bosses we want some time off we must consider some of the following:

 First, most large companies now support balanced life plans - in other words, they

recognize the need for their employees to take vacations and time off for appointments and family life. In most small companies all bets are off they want dedicated workers that work strict schedules with little or no paid vacation. Smaller companies may not have to adhere to government regulations and some labour laws.

 Universities and companies are coming together to provide better work relations and more flexible schedules to their employees. They also work to teach other businesses to bring the family needs of their employees into consideration and balance family and work in employee's lives. Businesses are recognizing the value of people who work even low skilled jobs offering them flexible vacation packages and time off work for personal needs like appoitnments and sabbaticals.

Garen Armstrong The Energy of Our Thoughts The Way We Think Means Everything!

Garen Armstrong: If we want something we should first think, AND believe we will have it. Just wanting it will do nothing for us. Do you just want it or will you have it? Is it better to say I am going to get a new car? Right up until that moment it can be a true statement in our mind, and this will drive us closer to the goal. Our thoughts become energy; if our thoughts are negative the energy is negative and will drive people away from us and drive us further away from most of our goals. If the energy is positive it will attract people to us and combined our energy is expanded together and individually. The energy of a thought expands each time we think it or someone else thinks it. The more we think "I want to buy a new car", the closer we will get to saying, "I am going to buy a new car", and it will become a concrete goal and activity in our calendar. Until then turn: "I want to buy a car", into: "I am going to buy a new car" and take a leap forward with new energy.Dreaming of our wants builds more energy, the more it expands, the more it begins to attract like energy. If we are surrounded by things that do not please us we may emit negative energy. Dead end jobs, horrible bosses, bad relationships, never getting what we want, constant struggle, conflict, built up anger, etc. These things will fall on our lap if our thinking is negative and not focused in achieving our wants. If our thoughts are positive we will attract positive energy and positive things will come to us.

We may be skeptical that it's as easy as thinking about something. Our thoughts become energy, first inside of us and then all around us. Positive thoughtsand energy empower us, while any negative thought impairs us if not to allow us to learn. The evidence of this is all around us. The trick is recognizing the flow of this energy, and how it creates our reality.It has to do with more than just thinking about it, we all know this. But thinking about how we should react in our life is also an important factor in the equation. If we want to buy a new car we may get upset that we get turned down for financing, and therefore can't get the car. If we blow up and take it out on the car salesperson we may miss an opportunity that he would have presented to us when we explain how disappointed we were, and how much we really wanted a car.

Garen Armstrong Are Entrepreneurs Born or Made?

Garen Armstrong: Entrepreneurs are agents of change. And in this age of fantastic change, around the world the number of entrepreneurs are steadily increasing. There are business entrepreneurs. And social entrepreneurs. Not-for-Profit entrepreneurs. Millionaire-making entrepreneurs. Broke entrepreneurs. Armchair entrepreneurs. Hi-tech, lo-tech, no-tech entrepreneurs. The list goes on.
Born or made?
But, "Are entrepreneurs born, made, or a bit of both?"
If you investigate the life-long applied research of behavioural scientists like Dr David McClelland of Harvard University. Or if you look at my own work in both the developing and post-industrial worlds over the last 43 years. You get the clear answer to your question. "Both!"
Entrepreneurs are both born AND made. You are both born and made as an entrepreneur.
Some things help
There are some birth and upbringing factors that help. If, for example, you:
· are male
· are first born whether male or female
· have the habit of being not a gambler risk-taker, but a calculated risk-taker
· your personal need to achieve is higher than your need for power or relationships
· you are under 54. Or over 54. [It's absolutely never too late to start]
· you have a 'restless gene'.
In the USA, for instance, in one study, 63% of start-ups were by men, with 18-to-34-year-olds accounting for 44% of new firm creations. This compares with 47% of start-ups initiated by men and women aged 35-54, and 9% for those 55 and older.