Arlene Dickinson*,
venture capitalist
and
CEO of Venture Communications,
shares
“The struggle, the challenges
of running a business
and your personal life
and figuring out
how to do it all well
is overwhelming.
You really are consumed by it.
And it’s not just you
— it has significant impact
on your family, friends, community
and everyone who struggles
to understand
why you are so obsessed.
And that is the word
they will ascribe to you:
obsessed.
What they don’t understand is
that you are just being who you are
and doing the thing
you feel compelled to do.
I liken entrepreneurship
to a calling.
People don’t tell an artist,
‘Put your brush down
at the five o’clock’,
yet with entrepreneurs
they do.”
Being both a writer and an entrepreneur,
I agree that these two callings
are very much the same.
The average worker
doesn’t understand either.
They view writers as crazy
and entrepreneurs as being obsessed.
It doesn’t matter.
This is who we are.
Building businesses
and driving innovation
is how we contribute to the world.
Be obsessed and proud.
* June/July 2014
CPA Magazine