The one thing every entrepreneur must be is bold. You cannot hesitate. You cannot give in to your fears. You must drive yourself forward, relentlessly, no matter what the cost. Even if it means risking everything for which you have worked so hard. Even if it means losing your company and reputation. You must stretch yourself and seize the day. That is only way dreamers can make reality conform to their will.
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Don’t take life too seriously. Don’t worry about each decision you make. In life, you never know if you are making the right decision. Life is too complex, and there are too many variables. Sometimes it’s better to go with your heart and see what happens.
Many of the greatest opportunities in my life came out of nowhere. They came when I was just having fun. Coming to China was one of those decisions. If I had thought too much about it, I wouldn’t have come. Or I would have come but not invested the time to grow my business.
So many American businesses fail in China. It was crazy to think that I could succeed. But it turned out to be one of the best decisions of my life. All throughout my life, I can see this pattern. When I follow my interests and engage fully in the act of living, I do much better.
Stress is a killer for entrepreneurs. If you are feeling stress, a good strategy is to think deeply about the cause. Then make a list of actions you can take to address the underlying issues. What can you do to solve the problem.
If there is nothing you can do, you need to train yourself to stop thinking about it. You should have a list of things that make you truly happy in your life, and whenever you feel stressed, sit back and think of those things. It actually works.
General Douglas MacArthur was one of the world’s most innovative generals. He defeated the Japanese by his island hopping strategy. In battle, he would do the unexpected, showing up where the enemy least expected him.
Here three of his most famous saying. I think they apply to startups too:
1) You are remembered for the rules you break.
2) In war there is no substitute for victory.
3) Old soldiers (entrepreneurs) never die; they just fade away.
SE3D is a Founders Space startup that designs and builds desktop bioprinters for education and research. Check out their Indiegogo campaign!
Top Ten things this past week…
1) Work, work, work, fun, fun, fun, run, run, run! Playing Bocce ball with my friends. Brian Goggin is a local artist and wildman. He’s a killer on the Bocce Ball court.
Entrepreneur Magazine listed the Top 10 Global Accelerators, and Founders Space is ranked #1 because of our worldwide presence and high-quality education.
You can read the full article here: Top 10 Global Accelerators Rankings.
RANKING:
Apply to pitch your startup at the SVIEF Startup Competition 2017 on September 29 in Silicon Valley and win cross-border investment and expand influence for your startup company!
As one of the largest innovation and technology forums held in the U.S. and China, SVIEF has successfully made an influence in both the Silicon Valley and the mainland China in the past 6 years. The Startup Competition is part of the SVIEF Expo with 150 exhibitors and over 7,000 attendees. SVIEF will be having investors coming from all over the world to hear the startup pitches.
Application Deadline is September 1, 2017.
With a mission to empower entrepreneurs, the Extreme Tech Challenge offers incredible opportunities, visibility and resources to contestants at every level of competition, so contestants can take their company to the next level. The contest occurs in key stages, with each round bringing contestants critical exposure to a singular audience and community of tech and business stakeholders.
They’ve extended the deadline for the application to August 31, 2017, so there’s still some time! Please look for more information here.
Google’s firing of James Damore is big news in Silicon Valley. Damore was an engineer at Google when he wrote a 10-page memo claiming that women are not ideal for some engineering and management positions because of biological reasons. He said Google was wrong in trying to increase the number of female engineers and managers.
The memo caused a huge uproar on both the left and the right. But let me be clear: there is no scientific evidence supporting any biological difference that makes females less capable engineers and managers. Damore is simply dressing his political point of view in pseudo science. This is typical of the right-wing ideologs. They use phony science to push their agenda.
Trump and the right wingers in America have used pseudo science to deny that carbon dioxide emissions cause climate change. Now they are extending the same underhanded tactics to gender equality. Similar tactics have been used to refute Darwin’s theory of evolution and claim homosexuality is a lifestyle choice (not genetic).
