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Measuring WHAT I want to achieve

Many individuals that start the journey to being an entrepreneur believe that they will be fulfilled if they are an entrepreneur. Unfortunately, many entrepreneurs find that they can never really reach that goal of fulfillment. The reason for this is that they are always measuring themselves against an ideal that they keep moving out. This ideal is always elusive, it keeps moving and the entrepreneur never feels as if they have attained their ideal. Over time this starts to lead to a strong sense of anxiety and even possible depression.

Measuring WHAT I have achieved

In his book The Gap and the Gain, Dan Sullivan calls this measuring of your current state against your ideal state, the Gap. He proposes rather measuring yourself against the Gain that you have had in your life. Measuring yourself against the areas that you have improved on in the past 90 days leads to higher feelings of fulfillment and becomes much more inspiring.

This becomes even more powerful when you consider the moment that you are currently in. Becoming conscious of where you are now and what you are doing now in relation to where you were, helps you to create perspective and redirect your attention. It shifts your perspective from what you want to achieve to who you want to become.

Measuring WHO I want to be

Let’s take a moment to explain this in the context of the Entrepreneurial Mindset. Most individuals associate entrepreneurs with individuals who are earning a passive income. Furthermore, they drive a nice car they manage other people, they live in a large house and they can spend a significant amount of money. In the perspective we have of these individuals we tend to think of WHAT that these individuals have. We spend very little time thinking about WHO they are.

Do they have patience with other people, and are they respectful and conscientious? Are they creative and imaginative? Do they love and are they in control when they become frustrated and angry. If you are looking to become entrepreneurial and develop an entrepreneurial mindset then you want to start thinking about which practices will help you become entrepreneurial. The attention then shifts from the what to the who. So maybe a question that might better serve you is WHO do you want to be?

When your ideal shifts from WHAT I want, to WHO do I want to be, then your measurement moves from the future or the past, to where you are currently at right now. This creates a much more powerful force for you and makes you more present to how you can use the moment you are in to move you forward.

Measuring WHO am I now makes you think about what you have to offer, how your experiences of the past have contributed to your life and have shaped you and it gives you the ability to immediately shift course if you need to do so. It also connects you to your values which is the driving force behind your vision.

Who am I? – is one of the most important questions that successful entrepreneurs start with (Sarasvathy, 2008). Why don’t you start today by asking this question?