If someone were to ask you what makes an entrepreneur successful, you might list attributes like his or her intelligence, personal appearance, education, dedication and hard work. While all of those qualities can be important, depending on the line of work, there are surprising forces in our lives that affect our success, outlined in a New York Bestselling book by Malcolm Gladwell, "Outliers, The Story of Success".
In which part of the year were you born and how did that affect your progress? Did your birthday fall in the school calendar year where you were always the youngest and smallest in your class? That decision by the education system could have affected your self esteem, always in "catch-up" mode, having to compete with older students. If you were amongst the oldest and biggest, then you had the advantage both academically and physically.
This aspect follows students all through the school years, and is particularly important when they try out for hockey, basketball or baseball. It's an interesting phenomenon to see that the majority of players on the Junior World Hockey Teams were born in the months of January, February and March, making them the oldest in their leagues at all stages of development. As ones who exceled at each age level, they would have been favored for extra training and privileges.
Success, says the author, results from a steady stream of advantages, including when and where you were born, what your parents did for a living, and the surrounding circumstances.
Since our daughters were born in the same year, nine months and three weeks apart, they could have started kindergarten in the same school calendar year. We opted to hold the youngest back a year, so that she would be closer in age to her classmates. On hindsight, it was a wise decision, since she excelled academically and in music, being on a level playing field.
And being from the middle class, as pointed out by the author, we were very involved with our daughters' lives, reading with them, providing music lessons and extra support for whatever interested them. They grew up expecting to graduate from university, with fulfilling careers, and they did.
What year were you born and what was happening in the world then? In the case of people like Steve Jobs, born February 24, 1955, Paul Allen, January 21, 1953, and Bill Gates, October 28, 1955, they were all born exactly as computers were just being introduced to the world and each had special opportunities in their teens to spend time on the first models. Had they been born earlier or later, they may have missed the opportunity to be as creative and inventive as they were.
What kind of opportunities were you given and did you take advantage of them? When we look back on our lives, we see all kinds of opportunities that fell in our way. Teachers who took a special interest in us, scholarships and part time jobs that allowed us to attend university, a chance to make a difference in the broadcast industry during its infancy.
The opportunity to become entrepreneurs was presented to us at just the right time in our lives, when we were ready to work from home and enjoy time and financial freedom, free from the corporate structure.
The author says the key to success is whether a person has the strength and presence of mind to seize opportunities, whether they grew up in poverty or in a privileged home setting. Read the Outliers to see how it fits into your world.
Deanna and Dave Waters
1-204-237-8250 www.thewatersedge.com
Seize the opportunity to be a successful entrepreneur. Contact us for more information.
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