Entrepreneurship, while it can be
enhanced and encouraged through education, cannot be taught
completely. The basic framework
and strategies can be presented in a classroom setting, but it is up to the
individual to effectively implement these strategies. Entrepreneurship, in the
end, is about three key virtues that are almost impossible to teach: passion,
courage, and work ethic.
Passion is something that people
develop, not something that can be instilled through a series of lectures. It
is possible to inspire through lecturing, but if someone isn’t passionate about
a topic or issue, no amount of convincing or hard facts is going to change
that. Passion is what drives an entrepreneur it’s what makes someone work 20
hour days to ensure a community in Africa gets clean water, it’s what inspires
an innovator to spend countless of hours developing a new invention, and it’s
what drives scientist to find a cure for cancer. Without passion, there is only
‘work’ to be done. Without passion, no one asks themselves, “How can I make
this better or make a difference”, which is a key question most entrepreneurs
start out with.
If passion is what drives an
entrepreneur, courage keeps them going. Having the courage to
risk everything- whether it be
time, money, or precious resources, is key to entrepreneurship.
Entrepreneurship is about having
guts, and no matter how hard they try, professors cannot teach that.
You also can’t teach someone how
to know which risks to take, how to take them, or what will work and what
won’t- if you could, everyone would be rich! Of course, entrepreneurship is not
always about risking it all- in fact, being an entrepreneur is very different
from gambling. Business gamblers take risks in search of big payouts, while
entrepreneurs take risks to do new things, solve problems, and are motivated by
much more than the reward of quick, easy money. Professors can teach the skills
necessary to make large scale decisions- especially financial ones- but
passion, courage, and work ethic are what separate the gamblers from true
entrepreneurs.
Entrepreneurial success depends
as much on temperament as on teaching. Entrepreneurship education can help
guide those with the right spirit, those with passion and courage, but it also
takes a strong work ethic and commitment to succeed. You can’t teach someone to
work hard unless they want to.
It takes a distinct combination
of ambition and drive to be an entrepreneur, and without the proper work ethic,
even the most passionate of entrepreneurs can fail. Most entrepreneurs fail
anyway! However, they gather the courage to rebuild and move on- and that type
of commitment can’t be taught. This, however, is not to say entrepreneurship
should not be part of a school’s curriculum. In fact, it’s imperative that
entrepreneurial thought be encouraged and students be inspired. Passion,
courage, and strong work ethic can take someone only so far if they don’t have
the right tools, knowledge, and connections to push ahead, especially in the
business world. Yet, a person is far more handicapped if they have the
knowledge without passion or courage- virtues that cannot be developed by
force.
While there are several elements
that can be taught to enhance the knowledge and success of entrepreneurs, in
the end, entrepreneurship is something one can learn only by doing. Students
need to be armed with inspiration and can be taught how to take an idea in the
right direction, but ultimately, it’s up to them to decide how far they want to
take it. True entrepreneurs are defined by their passion and their experiences,
not the degrees they hold, and that is why entrepreneurship, while it can be developed
and inspired, can’t truly be taught.
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