When I thought about how people aspire to be entrepreneur, I could trace out one simple thing which you will yourself discover in this article. Please read it and enjoy it for it has been specially written for you. I have kept this topic simple and yet attractive to help you in your future course of action.
Let’s start with defining rat race. Definition of rat race from the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary says, “The way of life of people living and working in a large city where people compete in an aggressive way with each other in order to be more successful, earn more money, etc.
There is other short and long definition but I found this definition most suited for our purpose. We can further condense it and we can say a rat race is an endless, self-defeating, or pointless pursuit.
Why we say most of us are in rat race? This is simply due to the fact that we are not trying to excel in your life and achieve what we really deserve. The college graduates are running from office to office to get job. We have more educated unemployed in the history of time. This is nothing but the result of rat race as we are not doing what we like to do or we can do but we are doing this or that simply because someone is asking to do this or do that. This is a form of mental slavery which is impoverishing us and nothing else. This is also heightened through their own attitudes to work and social life. We are missing more and more of the harmony of the work life balance and balance of work and family life. It is common that many believe those long work hours, unpaid overtime, stressful jobs, long commuting time, less time for family life and social life. This is again adding up to the unhappiness among millions.
Some of the commonly talked about options of escaping the rat race can be as follows:
- · Location based jobs.
- · Retirement to enjoy social and family life.
- · Easing out work load.
- · Harmonizing relationship in company.
- · Working from home.
- · Becoming self-dependent.
- · Changing profession
- · Leaving in rural areas.
One of the famous quotes that I remember is as follows:
"A rat race is for rats. We're not rats. We're human beings. Reject the insidious pressures in society that would blunt your critical faculties to all that is happening around you, that would caution silence in the face of injustice, lest you jeopardize your chances of self-promotion and self-advancement. This is how it starts. And before you know where you are, you're a fully paid-up member of the rat pack. The price is too high. It entails the loss of your dignity and human spirit." Jimmy Reid, Glasgow University, 1972.
How to Overcome Rat Race and Be Entrepreneur
We will discuss here some of the things which one must do in life to come out of the rat race and be master of own fate. We must have tolerance for ambiguity. The ladders to entrepreneurship has no clear step by step directions, we must embark on this journey knowing there will be moments with no clear instructions on the next step. Therefore it is essential to embrace ambiguity, and best equip ourselves to handle it.
Know strengths.
First of all we must assess our weakness and strengths and then comes the time to think about overcoming our fear or removing the weakness in our personality. If it is not possible to do anything about it then leave it. But you must concentrate on enhancing your strength and which in turn means sharpening the razor of your skills.
Fill a Need.
Market assessment is one of the key stepping stone in field of business and entrepreneur ventures. Research the market where you can monetize your skills and make a difference in the society. If you are good at Mathematics or Science then we can think of teaching, similarly we can choose the field of our interest.
Master the Basics.
Unless and until we are confident in basic business we cannot think of advanced options of gaining or earning more. Learn the skills of business communications. Revise your skills before using it in your upcoming projects.
Be Original.
We have to present our business or services in a unique and personalized manner. It doesn’t require lot of investment but due commitment of the entrepreneurs. Our original thoughts and ideas will make a difference in the market.
Hunger for Success
We must be hungry for success in entrepreneurship. To satiate our hunger of entrepreneurship, we must evaluate ourselves, our current and future course of action with due dedication.
Focus on Aim
We must be focused so that we can achieve success in long term. Some person can get success in few months while some may need to invent one or two year. We must dedicate ourselves through each task and milestone leading up to the achievement.
Be Optimistic
We must in optimistic in our approach. We have to be able to see the light of the end of the tunnel and the path that lead us to the success. In our journey for entrepreneur hunger we might be starving, tiring and competing. We must use our optimism to fuel our next step and to inspire others to take action with us.
Improve your Confidence and Risk Tolerance
We must do things to improve our confidence like attending the business meetings, talking with clients, making deal which might lead to profit or loss. We must be prepared for all which may come in the path of success. In the starting stage, often new problems arise in the office and we must be prepared to handle it.
Increase your Comfort with Strategic Decision Making
It is often said that experience is the best teacher, and humiliation a close second. We must try learning from past experiences. Learning from the mistakes of others and listening to the advice of veterans in the industry can equip us with the knowledge. In order for you to increase our comfort level, we must know how to do it or get it done.
Start off with a small scale experiment.
We must start our small venture first before venturing in the ocean of business. Know how to use the net and boat you have to catch small fishes. It means that we must start our business to serve local clients and then we can thing of getting is bigger.
Make it easy for donors to participate.
We must make sure that we adopt strategies for partnering with like-minded and seek new avenues of finances. This can be ensured through easing the process of adoption and collaboration. If we can create a partnership that requires participants to expend virtually no additional effort or money we are guaranteed more engagement.
Leverage strong connections.
We must increase our business contacts and use the contact of your family and friends to promote your business and engage more people in your venture. This is open up new avenues for compensating your resources and finances.
Build a multi-talented team.
It is mandatory to have a team of dedicated and talented staff for any business venture to grow. We must treat our staff as friends and make long lasting business contacts. When one works in a good team then one can expect the best results. Employees who have skills and expertise in more than one area will be invaluable to our organization, and our budget
Work is Fun
Building a good team and working with them with due dedication will result in taking work as a fun. When creative people are given independence then they produce the best of their abilities. We must keep this in mind and find fun in our work. It can be very beneficial to expand beyond typical work culture and reach out to individuals outside of traditional markets.
To summarize the Rat Race, it involves subjecting one's self to a time-consuming job, saddling one's self with heavy mortgages, and liabilities. The illusion that working at the same job will be better bars off alternatives.
When we develop a taste for entrepreneurship then we can enjoy the life of economic independence and sense of achievement will keep us happy to enjoy family and social life. It is also a misconception that getting more money will solve financial distress, but earning from our own venture will surely give us more satisfaction and pleasure than anything else.
There exists many options for financial gain and the list of options how we can be entrepreneur will be really helpful in our future ventures. We will surely keep you updating and motivating your to gain more and more information and assistance for becoming a successful entrepreneur.
Our collaborated efforts will surely give use better results than we can expect from our individual efforts.
Shashikant Nishant Sharma
