

Misfit Entrepreneurs - Geea
http://blogs.hbr.org/pallotta/2010/07/misfit-entrepreneurs.html

======
edo
Beautiful paragraph:

"To embrace the misfit in oneself is to be vulnerable. It is to forsake the
easy acceptance that comes with fitting in and to instead be fortified by a
kind of love, really. A love of life, a love of wonder, and, ultimately, a
sustaining love for oneself. Far from egoism, that love for oneself is a
measure of one's love for others, for humanity. And it is only from love that
great ideas can be born."

~~~
startuprules
That paragraph alone made me vote up the original article and shed a few
empathizing tears inside.

Unfortunately, then I go read about how we've killed the Gulf of Mexico
<http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1536572>, and my blood boils and hatred
for this world grows.

Such is the life of an entrepreneur, I suppose. Full of love and hatred. Full
of contradictions.

~~~
dmor
full of passion for gaining and keeping values

------
keeptrying
This really struck a chord with me. As I walk into work everyday, I always
think, why can't I be happy like every other guy walking into work.

All I want to do in the crowded elevator at work is to bleat out, like sheep,
"Baaa baaa baaa". I always think how funny that would be. :)

Infact I would say I've lost a good chunk of income - (40,000 a year?) just
paying for my "individuality". I've done this by telling bosses what I thought
about their ideas and that (and yes I've used these words in verbatim) "I can
only do things that _I_ feel are right. You can give me advice, but I might
not follow it.". So I've lost out on a few promotions and money.

I've received scorn, been laughed at and sometimes even received "pity" from
some of my friends who do whatever their bosses tell them to do and are
getting compensated well for it.

And the whole reason I've done this is because I've always felt that:

1\. The only thing that will help me to be independent in the future as an
entrepreneur is to be independent right now.

2\. If I lose this ability to be myself, I lose everything - ie the ability to
ever hope to start my own thing.

Now I might be completely wrong about this and I might have gone to extremes
at time, but this concept of "being a misfit" is something I've cherished.
Hopefully in the near future, when I have my own venture again, we'll see if I
was right and whether this is as valuable as I've always thought :).

At the very least, I can say that its never been boring :).

(Background: The reason I've not been able to start my own thing fulltime has
been because of a green card. But now I finally have it and have given myself
a 5 month window to start with my side project hopefully being my second
venture.)

------
tommynazareth
Vulnerability is the ultimate test of confidence. It is the willingness to let
others judge you and subject yourself to their mis-belief. To make yourself
vulnerable requires a solid grounding that isn't dependent on other's
approval.

Inevitably, great entrepreneurs live in a world of vision that is beyond what
their peers will allow themselves to believe. Th author of this article is
right on in describing great ideas as an expression of love. It is the same as
athleticism. Great athletes push the boundaries of what human beings are
capable of, and anyone who has pursued an athletic endeavor knows that when we
reach the brink of our ability the motivation is primal and pure.

So much of what we do is in an effort to protect ourselves, maybe it would be
worth it to spend more time exposing our weakness to the world and becoming
more sensitive to honesty and integrity.

------
jey
I'm having a hard time figuring out what the author means by "vulnerable"
here. Seems like a mellifluous but semantically empty use of the word.

~~~
messel
I read sensitive when he says vulnerable. and direct vulnerability: "This kind
of love cannot be taught in business school. It has to be felt. It has to be
given sanctuary away from the noise and relentless assault of information. And
then it has to be nurtured. It must be embraced, in the light of day, for all
to see, for people to ridicule, to criticize, to laugh at. And the
entrepreneur has to be willing to feel the pain of that ridicule and suffer
the risk of the dream being stolen, or crushed by the meanness of this world."

~~~
jey
Mmm, I think I'm getting it. So it's the idea that they actually _have_
something to lose, instead of just doing the "normal" things and thereby not
having to incur this risk of pain?

------
alain94040
Great article. I disagree though with the notion that being vulnerable is the
common trait. Definitely being a misfit is. As the article says "the great
entrepreneur in 2010 is the one who goes to Disneyland and asks: is this all
there is?"

Always question what everyone takes for granted.

------
moonhorse
I do not find anything new in this article. A very hideous way of saying
entrepreneurs need to chanllege the status quo.

~~~
jiganti
I agree for the most part, it was a very poetic, feel-good way of saying that
entrepreneurs look at the world differently.

