•Every thought seeks out an incubator – someone to carry and birth it
•The idea empowers its incubator to trigger a series of events that create ripples in unexpected ways
An idea is a living thing; a thought is life. Nothing occurs without it. Every thought seeks out an incubator – someone to carry and birth it.
The entrepreneur is the incubator for an idea. This simple fact is more powerful than you think. A bearer of thought is given the power to affect lives and effect changes in the environment. The idea empowers its incubator to trigger a series of events that create ripples in unexpected ways.
Dambudzo Marechera, the late Zimbabwean novelist and poet, was the first African to win the prestigious Guardian Fiction Prize in 1979 for his book, House of Hunger. His writing style was raw and unique. According to Wikipedia’s account, “he is regarded today as one of the most influential postcolonial African writers.”
But, Dambudzo was troubled. He was quarrelsome, more drunk than sober, constantly picking fights and socially unruly. Expelled from the University of Rhodesia in Zimbabwe and then again, New College Oxford, he eventually returned to Zimbabwe where he lived on the streets and died of AIDS at 35. The nature of his person limited the expression of his gift. How many more books could Dambudzo have written?
An entrepreneur is a person. She’s an incubator with emotions, intellect and a will. The person is a key element in determining the outcome of an idea. As you appreciate a great idea, it’s wise to also observe the incubator – the person.
The entrepreneur’s ability, power or capacity (emotional, financial, mental, relational, etc.) to make the idea visible is vital; the incubator’s state of being affects ideas. My experience has taught me that capacity is more important than desire. Many entrepreneurs with big dreams are stuck because they’ve bought into the thinking that all they need is a good idea and a positive, can-do attitude. I wish it were that easy.
We all know that banking your cash is the smarter option, but some people still believe that hiding money under their pillow or mattress is the way to go. What people decide to do depends on their scope or world view. Some folks still swear by pillow banking – which constitutes a narrow financial scope because the benefits are limited.
We create our world based on our scope – what we see about ourselves and the world per time. The entrepreneur’s scope determines where she looks for answers, who she talks to, what she reads, where she goes. The entrepreneur’s scope is the parameter within which ideas will be expressed.
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