16. Courage

Entrepreneurship.

A fancy word which is difficult to pronounce and has equally difficult meaning.

I have been studying Entrepreneurship as a part of my school curriculum for at least 3 hours a week for months now. I might not know a lot about it but one thing that I have learnt from each class is the importance of courage.

Courage which will push you through every failure. The same courage that directs you and takes you a long way.

Courage, I learnt was the leader in me.

I knew I wanted to be an entrepreneur ever since I was 13. I wanted to do something new, change the world. I didn't have the dream to be famous but I had always wanted everyone to recognize my work. Yeah! Sounds contradictory to me as a grown up. But defining my take on what I want from entrepreneurship is now my easy problem.

Difficult ones are the harsh reality of the world. The lessons I learnt, in and outside the class.

In the class, I was advised to network and make a team. For someone who struggles to make friends and loves to work alone, this turned out to be my first big problem. My unwillingness to change, I realized will turn out to be a problem in long run.

I was only starting to wrap my head around this thought when I was hit hard by the outside world. The outside seemed scarier than the inside. I even wished my problems to be limited only to me dealing with strangers.

However, outside made me realize, I would have to fight with my own people to fulfill my dreams. My friends and family. They were likely to act as a barrier between me and my dreams and I would have to make a choice.

The realities were hazing my brain. They were overwhelming. Maybe I learnt too much at once but the realization didn't stop me.

I grabbed numerous books and engrossed myself into the stories of success and failures behind entrepreneurship. Books were my happy place and I was sure they were going to save me. But the more I learnt about entrepreneurship the scarier it looked.

I learnt, there are only few who smile at your accomplishments but a lot more who laugh at your failure. I was afraid to be a failure. I didn't have the tenacity. I was afraid to make a team and give up on people. I was too afraid to make entrepreneurship possible.

But soon I realized, more than anything else, I was afraid to give up on my childhood dreams.

To sum up, the great stories and lessons did teach me few things. Maybe I am not ready, maybe I am over thinking. Maybe textbooks aren't always right, and maybe I am an exception.

A lot of possibilities seem likely but I will never know until I put on the shoes and walk ahead. For now, I can always wish things to go alright. Be ready to fail and learn to let go.

For now, all I can do is learn to be myself.