Entrepreneurial Thinking #1: Stop, Look, Listen & Think...What direction is this bus going?

What direction are you going? I ask this question of students & entrepreneurs all the time and they are never quite sure what I mean.

When I show them the image of the bus and ask the same question they often realize why I am asking such as simple question...when their problems often seem so overwhelmingly complex.

Understanding how to think creatively in a highly complex environment is often made simple if you learn to stop, look,listen & think...rather than just plowing ahead with your shoulder to the wheel. This is the same basic advice every parent gives their young children. It was great advice and probably saved your life many times.

The trick to solving the bus puzzle is precisely the same trick that is used to achieve real success as an entrepreneur. You have to take a look at the entire environment that surrounds your business concept and then, and only then, should you continue to plow forward. There is often so much focus on mindless continuous "progress" toward an artifical business plan goal...that you don't really understand what direction you should be going.

Back off, think, relax and play for a day or two here and there like a kid...and then you will find the right pathway to success.

As I often say, "When your up to your butt in alligators...it is really difficult to remember that you went there to drain the swamp"!