Entrepreneurs See The World Differently

Before you begin your day consider how open or closed minded you are in your thoughts and in your actions.

We all see the world from our own perspective and our perspective influences what we see (or think we see) and therefore what we think and the actions we take.

Without the necessary insight or self-awareness to understand the perspective or world-view we hold, it can be difficult to embrace change and improve our lives.

The idea of a world-view comes from the belief that people interpret the world in terms of their own unique experiences and biases.

These experiences and biases lead to our ’attitudes, beliefs, values, assumptions, motivations and opinions about how the world functions’.

These characteristics determine our perception of reality and affect our understanding about particular events. Our world view is our frame of reference for the way we ‘see’ the world.

A good illustration of how we ‘see’ the world in different ways is provided in the following story told by Edward De Bono:

“Johnny was a young boy who lived in Australia. One day his friends offered him a choice between a one-dollar coin and a two-dollar coin. In Australia the one dollar coin is considerably bigger than the two dollar coin. Johnny took the one-dollar coin. His friends giggled and laughed and reckoned Johnny was very stupid because he did not yet know that the smallest coin was worth twice as much as the bigger coin. Whenever they wanted to demonstrate Johnny’s stupidity they would repeat the exercise. Johnny never seemed to learn.

One day a bystander felt sorry for Johnny and beckoned him over, the bystander explained that the smaller coin was actually with twice as much as the larger coin. Johnny listened politely, then said: ‘Yes, I do know that. But how many times would they have offered the coins if I had taken the two dollar coin the first time?”

The story shows how different people see the same experience in different ways. The general view or perspective is that Johnny’s actions don’t make sense, as there is no way his behaviour seems rationale or sensible. However, once Johnny explains his actions it is as though a light is switched on as all of a sudden our understanding changes.

There is no doubt that Johnny is an entrepreneur and entrepreneurs see things differently. And seeing things differently is exactly what is needed to create a successful economy in the years ahead.

SO, open your mind, think like an entrepreneur and you will see things differently.

What do you think: Do entrepreneurs see the world differently?

Leave your comments below.