The One-Week Job Project: One Man, One Year, 52 Jobs by Sean Aiken

Author:Sean Aiken
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Tags: Human Resources & Personnel Management, Careers, Vocational Guidance, Job descriptions, Occupations, General, Job Hunting, Sean, Counseling, Education, Business & Economics, Aiken
ISBN: 9780345508034
Publisher: Random House, Inc.
Published: 2010-03-23T04:16:28.850000+00:00

Ian had been an entrepreneur his whole professional career. Before he developed the FIFO bottle, he invented Table Shox, a successful product for preventing wobbly tables. As an entrepreneur, Ian earned his money through innovation and perseverance. He had been able to identify unmet needs and apply the capital and know-how to turn those needs into profit. In turn, he spent his wealth on the good things in life: a fantastic house on the water, a boat to explore the coast, and the free time to enjoy it all with his family. If there’s a secret to living well, Ian had come close to finding it: Work hard, don’t take things too seriously, and have fun.

There’s a lot of risk involved in being an entrepreneur, yet Ian continually pushed through that to find success. I asked him, “What is the number one challenge of being an entrepreneur?”

Immediately he responded, “Fear. It’s real simple. If you’re afraid to fail, you fail. And we all have fear, but you can’t let that fear paralyze you.”

“How do you overcome that fear?” I asked.

“There’s one line in a famous book that I always remember—‘What would you do if you weren’t afraid?’” He paused, as if expecting a response. “As soon as you put that fear aside, compartmentalize it, then you can move forward.

“I’ve met so many people who have ideas, but very few who have executed those ideas,” he continued. “If you’re a glass-half-empty-type person, frankly, it’s not a good idea to be an entrepreneur. But for people who want to go down this path, I think it’s really important that they study what’s out there. Read lots—read magazines that you’d never pick up at a newsstand, read biographies of people who have done really well, read psychology on how you do well, ask people questions—find out how to get into that mind space, not only the creative aspect, but having the inner fortitude to take those creations to the next level.”

I admire the freedom that Ian had created for himself. He was able to control the projects he takes on and was ultimately responsible for their successes and failures. His simple definition of success—“doing what you want to do.”

After meeting Ian, I wanted to learn more about being an entrepreneur. Also, I enjoy hilarious T-shirts, which is why I accepted my next one-week job.

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