My name is Hod Fleishman. I am an entrepreneur, innovator, and creator. I established, launched, and managed various technology-driven businesses and worked with C-Suite executives and entrepreneurs to design and execute technology solutions. In this series of posts, I will share my experience and insights into the world of entrepreneurship.
This chapter is the fourth and final article in the series titled “How to become the entrepreneur of your life.” In this series, I share my experiences as an entrepreneur and those of like-minded individuals I worked with to distill the thinking patterns that helped us create change. You can read the previous three parts of this series by clicking on the links below.
- Part 1: How To Become The Entrepreneur Of Your Life
- Part 2: Why Is Understanding Who I Am Critical To Entrepreneurial Success?
- Part 3: How To Discover Your True Passion And Boost Clarity And Motivation
A Quick Re-Cap
In the previous chapters, I discussed a common and recurring event that we all encounter – the need to make a significant change, personal or professional. The question then becomes, what is the change, and how do we go about it? This kind of change, disruption, or transformation is similar to what entrepreneurs do when they disrupt an industry – they leap from an undesirable present to a desirable future. This similarity raised a question in my mind: Can the entrepreneurial processes used to create change, whether in business, social, or other domains, apply to individual change processes as well?
After much consideration, I have distilled my insights into three critical building blocks that can help you become “The Entrepreneur Of Your Life” and make the desired change. These steps are:
1) Understanding Who you are
2) Defining What you want
3) Finding the best platform to achieve that which you desire
Must You Change?
I’ve covered parts 1 and 2 above in the previous pieces.
Today, let’s focus on one key element to help you convert your “Want” from an idea to a reality: Identifying the best “Platform” for you.
I underlined “for you” as I have seen two common behaviors with people seeking change.
Some will tirelessly try to change themselves to better fit their desire. Imagine a person working up the ranks in an academic institute. They can see who the top professionals are. What they look like, how they talk, their political views, their career path, and their ways of working. One way of climbing up to the top of the ranks is to mimic these traits and behaviors so that, over time, you become “one of them.” You look like them, you talk like them, you perform like them, but I would highlight a risk, you also think like them.
It is why when you meet enough high-ranking people from a particular company in a room, there is a feeling you are looking at duplicates. They’ve worked very hard to walk the walk and talk the talk of their business. Along the way, many lose the connection with who they are because their true self may not have been the best fit for their desired environment. For organzations focused on diversity of thought, this should not be the approach.
There are domains where this approach is the right one. In sports, for example, technique matters a lot. It doesn’t matter if it is a kick, a swing, a push, or a pull; the athlete must execute each move to perfection. To excel, you must change how you behave and think and bring yourself to this execution level. In art, on the other hand, it doesn’t work. If you focus too much on the technical aspects of things, you will get lost and not produce anything original.
An Alternative
There is, however, an alternative path. Its focus is the search for a perfect fit for you instead of trying to change who you are. You already have great qualities, so why give them up?
The process here requires a deep understanding of who you are (discussed in part 2 of this series,) aligning it well with what you want, and finding the best platform to assist you in fulfilling your desires.
In this process, one does not aspire to change who they are but instead understand their core strengths, uniqueness, and capabilities and pair these findings with what they want. Then, the challenge is to find the environment or platform that best aligns with their core characteristics and wants so they can flourish. The “change” you seek is not about changing yourself to fit in the world but finding the place in the world that best fits you.
At the beginning of this series, I discussed reaching the “junction of what’s next,” where you feel you need to make a change. Now, I will ask you this question: Why do you want this change? What is causing you to feel dissatisfied?
Consider whether you desire a change because there is a misalignment between who you are, what you want, and your environment. Could it be that you desire change because these three fundamental elements do not fit together nicely? Wouldn’t it be great if they did?
Finding The Best Fit For You
In the world of entrepreneurship where disruptive products and companies are built, an established truth exists about problem-solving. The well-tested claim is that the best way to solve a problem is not by searching for a solution but by gaining a better understanding of the problem. A well-understood problem will clearly define the solution, and the best solution will become evident once the problem is well understood. Often, products, companies, and businesses fail because the solution they offer does not satisfactorily address the problem they were created to solve.
So for you to find the best place in the world where who you are and what you want can flourish, you need to spend some time and first understand what it is that doesn’t work well today. In other words – what is the problem? Because for the next place to satisfy you, it will have to address these issues, or you will be in a rut once again.
The world is a big place. There are many places, different work environments, different people and cultures. Know that there is a fit for you, but for you to know that you have met the best fit, you first must know who you are, what you want, and why the current situation you’re in is dissatisfactory.
Last Words On This Topic (For Now..)
First of all, thank you for reading through this series. I’d be happy to connect via Linkedin if you have any thoughts or questions on this topic. Secondly, we all at some point or another, desire a change in our lives. Often time its because something “no longer works,” and finding an alternative is not always easy. I hope the three steps I offered, knowing who you are, knowing what you want, and identifying the best platform for you, can inspire you in your journey in finding your happy place.
