Hopping Over the Rabbit Hole

SO MUCH OF SUCCESSFUL ENTREPRENEURSHIP is learning to lead yourself. It requires some luck, but more than anything it means always pressing forward and a good dose of creativity especially when things don’t look good.

It’s not surprising then that Anthony Scaramucci’s book, Hopping Over The Rabbit Hole: How Entrepreneurs Turn Failure Into Success is not just an important read for would-be entrepreneurs but anyone who looking move through life in a forward direction.

Scaramucci is the founder of SkyBridge Capital, a global investment firm with around $12 billion in assets. The firm also produces the annual SkyBridge Alternatives (“SALT”) Conference, a premier global investment and thought leadership forum. But his road to success has not been without a number of failures and near-misses. And he shares many of them to our benefit. He points out that SkyBridge’s success was ultimately defined by “our ability to learn from mistakes and turn failures into success.”

He writes: “I’m a firm believer in the idea that you’re either moving forward or backward. You’re either growing in confidence or swelling with hubris. The moment you become complacent is the moment you lose your edge. There is always somebody working harder than you, and there are always copycats ready to take the model you’ve built and make it better.”

So “we need to put our egos on the floor, get outside of our comfort zones, and push ourselves, while maintaining some level of gracious audacity.”

Life and business bring with it regrets. But we can learn from them or let them hold us back. The danger is to look for to blame and not taking responsibility for your outcomes.

What regrets really speak to is a measure of self-awareness. The trick is how we chose to deal with them. Successful people have the ability to accept the past, embrace it, learn from it, and ultimately move forward. Less successful individuals tend to wallow in regrets, constantly reliving a series of events and asking themselves over and over what could have been, what should have been, and ultimately what ought to have been.

Whatever series of events conspired to separate what “ought” to have happened from what actually happened is ultimately your responsibility.

When he was fired from Goldman Sachs his impulse was to lash out. But his boss told him that he would be angry, but “This is important Anthony. You’ve got to move through that stuff. And you’ve got to accept this is happening to you.”

By sharing his own shortcomings throughout this book, he helps us identify where we also fall short. He then shares practical solutions.

He points out that “starting your own business is the most terrifying and nausea-inducing thing you can do. The dream comes first, and if you’re lucky, smart, and work your tail off, money will follow. Success should never be viewed as a given. If you are afraid of failure, don’t become an entrepreneur.”

When beginning a business it is easy to begin spending money on the wrong things. Thriftiness is key.

This is an important lesson for any entrepreneur—if you are starting a new business, you should maintain the appearance of a start-up. You want people to know that you are hungry and focused on one thing: work. Your customers come first. Your employees come a close second. Always keep your expenses down.

Pressing forward and never giving up requires a special mindset regarding negative feedback:

If you can take ridicule and negative opinions roll off you like raindrops, don’t be afraid to take a chance and be an entrepreneur.

Most people—myself included—care what others think. But what you can’t do is allow that to impact your business, your performance, your potential.

You have to believe you are going to be successful. You need to think positively if you want a positive outcome.

In the beginning you need the right kind of people:

Start-ups don’t have the luxury of hiring people to fit specific job functions. They typically lack the money to fill specialized roles. Instead, start-ups look for people who are problem solvers. People who can do a little bit of everything.

You need staff that have the entrepreneurial mind-set to lead your company’s evolution. I value a self-starter mentality.

You can be right about everything or you can be in a partnership.

True leadership requires personal subordination. True empowerment requires trust and personal subordination.

Finally, Scaramucci says, “There is no skill more vital to an entrepreneur than networking. Your ability to connect with people on a personal level will differentiate you from your peers.” And you need to get comfortable with public speaking.

If you want to get to where you want to be, he says you have to believe that you are enough. You will do what it takes to get the job done. “It’s your attitude that will make you.”

* * *
Like us on Facebook for additional leadership and personal development ideas.
* * *

Posted by Michael McKinney at 10:27 PM
Permalink | Comments (0) | This post is about General Business