Wave of ‘wantrepreneurs’
First of all, we cannot all be entrepreneurs.
Success comes in different forms for different people and success means different things for different people. For some, it means titles, for some it means getting married, for some it means having a conglomerate, for some it means going or staying abroad, for some it means having a high position in an organisation, for some it means living a quiet life while others want to be famous or simply social media celebrities.
Of course, for some it means getting the highest education qualifications while others it means having enough to feed themselves and having a happy family… the list can fill this whole column space really but, at least, you get the idea.
So when agitating for something, we should be careful not to fall into hasty generalisation and fit everything and everyone into one box. Messages people receive do influence decisions they make and, unfortunately, once a message is transmitted, it can be interpreted in different ways by those that receive it.
It is, therefore, important to be as precise as possible when giving out a message or at least acknowledge t h e alternatives. It is important when setting different agendas to consider different sides of the coin and consider how people absorb information.
Let us not make a God out of entrepreneurship; a God that will solve all problems or lead to happiness. Lest we end up with too many ‘wantrepreneurs’ that are not making any success in any ventures because they are working on information that is being put out there ad nauseam without enough facts.
There are also a lot of articles that discuss things that SUCCESSFUL or RICH people do that POOR people do not do. The poster persons of these articles are usually internationally known businesspersons who ran big companies and have bank accounts that can feed the whole nation. This paints the picture that only these people have the best habits, characters and personalities by virtue of being rich or successful and that poor people are held at a lower standard. We should refrain from allowing this to get to our heads.
We cannot reduce human nature to money, titles and material possessions; these things cannot be a universal measuring yard for what makes people successful or satisfied with their lives. Humanity is a lot more c o m p l e x than that. Many are times when a rich person or entrepreneur has died with regrets because money on its own does not complete ‘success’ and guarantee happiness. “Maslows hierarchy of needs comes to mind”
In striving to promote entrepreneurship, let us refrain from making work and employment an enemy. Let us be careful about bastardising work and those providing various services. Other people are using the promotion of entrepreneurship as a lee-way to dilute work etiquette and ethic.
There are people who scold ‘work’ because all of the sudden receiving a salary from someone else has become such a big problem because it is better to make your own. Unfortunately, in the misguided chase for an own salary, there is a rise in corruption, backdoor deals, fraud and sheer thievery.
We have to respect that success for others does not include business, for some it does not include work and for others it does not even include any of the above but pure servitude. But, we are functioning in a system because there are people working behind those systems. There are people who are getting somewhere because of the salaries they are receiving that are paid in exchange for diligent and dedicated work they take on and there is absolutely nothing wrong with that.
I rest my case.
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