Who is the enterprising person?

Today's Business Lessons

Who is the enterprising person?   BUSINESS MATTERS(Beyond the bottom line)  By Francis J. Kong (The Philippine Star)  Updated September 08, 2012

I’ve listened to many of his audio materials and watched his videos, but I have yet to watch him speak in person. Yet his ideas resonate deep within me. I’m talking about business philosopher Jim Rohn.

Rohn passed away a few years ago, but he left a legacy of wonderful materials that is very helpful to me in what I do. There’s one article of his the copy of which I’ve kept to this day – “Creating Opportunity”.

In the article, Jim Rohn said, “An enterprising person is one who comes across a pile of scrap metal and sees the making of a wonderful sculpture. An enterprising person is one who drives through an old decrepit part of town and sees a new housing development. An enterprising person is one who sees opportunity in all areas of life.

“To be enterprising is to keep your eyes open and your mind active. It’s to be skilled enough, confident enough, creative enough, and disciplined enough to seize opportunities that present themselves... regardless of the economy.”

Jim Rohn is right. And the anti-thesis is the person who settles for routine and mediocrity, simply waiting for the payroll without doing anything to pursue self-development. The problem here isn’t lack of opportunity, but attitude.

Rohn continued by saying, “A person with an enterprising attitude says, ‘Find out what you can before action is taken.’ Do your homework. Do the research. Be prepared. Be resourceful. Do all you can in preparation of what’s to come.”

“Enterprising people always see the future in the present,” he said, “Enterprising people always find a way to take advantage of a situation, not be burdened by it. And enterprising people aren’t lazy, they don’t wait for opportunities to come to them, they go after the opportunities. Enterprise means always finding a way to keep yourself actively working toward your ambition.”

According to Jim Rohn, enterprise is two things: creativity and courage. He said, “You need creativity to see what’s out there and to shape it to your advantage. You need creativity to look at the world a little differently. You need creativity to take a different approach, to be different.

“What goes hand-in-hand with the creativity of enterprise is the second requirement: the courage to be creative. You need courage to see things differently, courage to go against the crowd, courage to take a different approach, courage to stand alone if you have to, and courage to choose activity over inactivity.”

“And lastly,” Rohn said, “Being enterprising doesn’t just relate to the ability to make money. Being enterprising also means feeling good enough about yourself, having enough self-worth to want to seek advantages and opportunities that will make a difference in your future. And by doing so you will increase your confidence, your courage, your creativity and your self-worth – your enterprising nature.”

This is great stuff from Jim Rohn. Let me add one more essential element: make sure your enterprise also adds value to the marketplace, not just make you rich.

God does not invent junk. You and I need to tap into our God-given potential, work on it and do the best for His Glory. This truth brings greater fulfillment to any enterprise and makes it even more meaningful.