Most entrepreneurs' lives follow a pattern
something like this. In the beginning,
or formative years, an event or series of
events occur that instilled within them a
deep desire to succeed. This desire may
come from a poor upbringing, a dysfunctional
or broken family, or any number of
other situations that cause the person to
"want" more from life than the ordinary
individual wants.
This deep burning desire to succeed
becomes firmly embedded in their psyche
and results in these individuals
entering a phase of life I call "the
Learning Years." Unlike many studious
people, they have more than a simple
hunger for information; they seek application
of what they've learned.
This quest for learning leads them on
a search for ways to apply their newfound
knowledge, which carries them
into the phase of life I call "the Earning
Years." These are the years during
which they apply their newfound knowledge,
often in risky and unconventional
ways, to create innovative products or
services that result in their building significant
wealth.
As their business ventures grow and
wealth accumulates, the desire to more
fully enjoy the fruits of their labor sets in,
and these entrepreneurs enter a new
phase of life I call "the Yearning Years."
Worn down by the day-to-day grind of
business, the urge to kick back and
enjoy life often leads to a passing of the
leadership torch to reduce the constant
pressures of running a company. This
all sounded good until they awake one
day and find themselves yearning for
something to fill the void left by the loss
of activity and excitement they had
experienced in the active business
world. This is the period of life when
many of these great entrepreneurs
begin to focus more on community
service and philanthropic activities. The
push to build wealth is replaced by a
yearning for social acceptance and the
desire to leave a legacy.
It is during this phase of life that
many fiercely independent entrepreneurs
could leave an even more meaningful
legacy in the form of intellectual
philanthropy. Eventually everyone
enters that final phase of life I call "the
Waning Years." These years are often
filled with feelings of anxiety or helplessness
because we find life slowly
slipping away, just when we think we
have it all figured out. Wouldn't life be
more complete if we spent at least a
portion of our yearning years sharing
the secrets of entrepreneurship that led
to our successes?
Giving people a hand up rather than
a handout is one of the greatest acts of
philanthropy that we can do for our fellow
man. When we share the events
that gave us our drive, the trials and
tribulations we experienced on our rise
to success, and the ways we overcame
life's obstacles, we are providing others
with a road map to success. We can
accomplish this through articles, books,
speeches, mentoring, et cetera.
Let me leave you with this thought: I
believe it is a great injustice to mankind for
successful people to take to the grave the
knowledge that led to their accomplishments
and only leave behind what they
accumulated. Can you think of a better
way to end a successful life than by helping
someone else start his or hers?
Learn more about Mike Summey and his bestselling book and audio
program The Weekend Millionaire's
Real Estate Investing Program.