Not that I want to sell you with anything, but I am keen to see what the author of The DaVinci Method, Garret LoPorto – an author, speaker, U.S. & International patent-pending inventor, and successful entrepreneur – has got to say about entrepreneurship.
The DaVinci Method is actually not only for entrepreneurs – it can also help children overcoming ADHD, and more. But it is a strong tool for entrepreneurs in one way: Discovering whether you are an entrepreneurship material – and if so, how to be a successful entrepreneur by ‘unlocking’ your potential and enabling you to ‘play to your strengths’ while overcoming your weaknesses.
Why DaVinci? Leonardo DaVinci is said to have personality type and temperament that are needed to ace entrepreneurship – creative, ambitious, radical, energetic, and intuitive to mention a few. Entrepreneurs and inventors, such as Thomas Edison, Richard Branson, Steve Jobs and other successful entrepreneurs have DaVinci type personalities.
The DaVinci Method can help you to be a better entrepreneur
I visited The DaVinci Method’s site, and decided to take a free simple, ‘preliminary’ test to see whether you share DaVinci personality traits that can enable you to be a ‘real’ entrepreneur (if you have decided to take the test, be warned that you are required to enter your email address to add to their newsletter list – but it’s all well worth it, in my opinion.)
My personality test results are in: I scored 80% and considered a DaVinci type. Now, what this has got to do with the program?
I received the first (automated, of course!) email from Garret, who stated a rather harsh comment:
…This is the first of 3 tips for people who received a high score on the Entrepreneur Test, which you just took. (If however you received a low score on the Entrepreneur Test, I have only one tip for you: “You’re probably better off getting a regular job.”)
Ouch. We’ll get back to the last sentence from the above remark later on.
Now, I just read the first tip that I’m about to share with you, and I have a comment on that tip: spot on. Here’s the tip (summarized to important details):
Tip #1: Fail Fast. It’s okay to experiment. 9 out of 10 businesses fail. So if you start 10 businesses the odds are that at least one will be successful.
(Fail fast – ed.) means that it’s cheaper to fail quickly than to have a long drawn out failure. Venture capitalists realize that 9 out of 10 of their businesses (they invest in – ed.) will result in a loss, but that ONE business that makes it will yield a generous return, and make the other losses worth it.
So, find out as quickly as you can if your business idea will work. If not, don’t sweat it. Just move on…
I entirely agree. Many entrepreneurs are simply afraid to fail because it does take a lot of work for just a startup. And having a failing business does take a lot of willpower to get you back on track (I’ve been there!)
The idea of failing fast is radical, but you need to embrace it – it allows you to learn fast and most importantly, you will discover what works faster than drowning yourself in your failure, hoping you could save your business against all odds. From my personal experience (along with other many case studies I know,) trying hard to keep your business from failing drains your energy and resources. It’s better to start all over again with better experience and outlook.
Some thoughts about those who don’t (seem to) have entrepreneurial qualities
Now, let’s get back to the “You’re probably better off getting a regular job” part.
Well, this is a part of the ‘legendary dispute’ whether entrepreneurship can be taught or not. It seems that The DaVinci Method geared toward the view that entrepreneurs are born, not taught, but I have to agree in some ways that entrepreneurship does require a certain personality trait to get you far – for instance, if you are afraid of starting up a business because of the unknowns, then you will less likely to succeed.
However, I do believe that the fear of starting up, the fear of taking risks and such can also be the results of the early education you receive in our early childhood. For instance, if your parents taught you that risk taking is foolish, then you might grow up as a person who is afraid of taking risks, even though you have all the potential to be a strong calculated risk taker, thus an entrepreneurship material.
It’s not for me to decide – it’s for each of you to decide whether you are an entrepreneurship material or a corporate material. You might want to visit The DaVinci Methods site to learn more.
Any thoughts? Please share yours by commenting on this article.
Ivan Widjaya
The DaVinci Method
P.S. You can get 30% commission promoting The DaVinci Method to entrepreneurs and small business owners. Click here to learn more.