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Approximately 20% of the population have dyslexia, but over 30% of entrepreneurs do (Logan 2009). Some successful entrepreneurs who have dyslexia are Richard Branson, Charles Schwab, Daymond John, Barbara Corcoran and Ted Turner.
The higher incidence of dyslexia among entrepreneurs raises questions about their connection, if any. Generally, empirical research on dyslexic strengths still requires replication and validation. But as an entrepreneur and clinical linguist who has worked with individuals with dyslexia for three decades, I see one obvious commonality between the two groups: adversity.
Facing Adversity with Entrepreneurship and Dyslexia
For entrepreneurs, the failure rate for falling short of meeting business projections is 90% to 95%. The failure rate for losing all their money in the venture is 30% to 40% (Nobel 2011). Entrepreneurship is more than just a job. It is a way of life. And in their chosen way of life, entrepreneurs face constant stresses: subpar raw materials, missed shipments, cash-flow problems, or a mistake that morphed into a PR nightmare.
For children with dyslexia, school can feel no less threatening. My students with dyslexia had been poked at, pinched, and pummeled physically. Psychological assault can be just as painful. One student recalled how his fifth grade teacher would apologize to the whole class for having to wait for him, because he needed more time to complete the work.
Therefore to thrive, both the entrepreneur and the person with dyslexia have to develop psychological resilience.
What Is Psychological Resilience?
The concept of resilience comes from the physical sciences, which study how quickly a system returns to its initial state after a disturbance. Psychological resilience, as applied to an individual, is a return to the initial stable state or an advancement to a new, strengthened state that can withstand even more disturbance. Psychological resilience is positive adaptation to adversity.
Instead of viewing resilience as a static personality trait, recent research regards it as a process (Hartmann et al. 2022). One develops resilience, and resilience can grow, given appropriate factors.
Researchers mention factors intrinsic to the individual such as optimism and self-confidence. Rather, I see this as a mindset to adopt. Say you poured precious resources into building goodwill with a sales lead, hoping for a big contract. But after six months of your efforts, your lead chose your competitor instead. Of course you’re devastated. But how long will you take to bounce back and pursue alternatives? Your answer should be that very same day. Your business cannot wait.
This is why entrepreneurs have to stay positive regardless. This requires self-control, which is why research on this topic examines emotion regulation. Some venture capitalists talk about looking for a certain naivety in the startup founders that they fund. In slightly different language but along the same vein, Steve Jobs in his Apple campaign said, “The people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world are the ones who do.”
For disruptive ventures, entrepreneurs need self-confidence even more to push against the resistance of the status quo. They need self-control to persevere and forgo the comforts of a less harrowing journey. Their persistence comes from passion.
The Entrepreneurial Spirit Needed in Everyone
The ability to bounce back from setbacks is increasingly needed for not just business owners but their employees. The pressures of digitization, automation and globalization require resilience in individuals and organizations.
If psychological resilience is a process, how do we nurture it? Studies of successful entrepreneurs find that their parents played an important role in this regard (Duchek 2018). These parents treated their children with respect, valued their opinions and supported their endeavors. As children, the entrepreneurs were assigned tasks that were challenging for their age.
These opportunities exposed them to higher-than-typical yet manageable levels of stress. The trick is to maintain a fine balance between enough stress to build resilience but not too much as to break the child.
The entrepreneurs’ parents also served as role models in demonstrating the value of money and hard work, and their ability to rebound from failure. Together with this is the belief that one is responsible for one’s actions and destiny.
Resilience Essential Reads
I would add that parents also play an important role in modeling how to problem-solve intelligently, creatively and flexibly. These are traits that are now essential for everyone. We live and work in a dynamic world where change is accelerating.
The question is how to immunize the next generation to this onslaught.
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Publish date : 2024-10-06 10:47:46
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The post Do You Have the Entrepreneurial Spirit? first appeared on Africa-News.
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Author : africa-news
Publish date : 2024-10-06 11:41:23
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