The great Hercules had to perform 12 labors to become the greatest hero in Greece…
… as entrepreneurs, we only have 2 to overcome to become successful.
The difference for entrepreneurs is that these are labors that you have to go through over and over again on their hero’s journey.
The first is the labor of failure.
This is the one most hero entrepreneurs are aware of from the moment they start off on their journey.
Once you start on your quest to change the world and find great treasures you will inevitably face challenges.
Some you will see coming.
Some will sucker punch you like a drunk ogre who thinks you’re hitting on them.
In most cases, you’ll be able to dust yourself off and continue. Hopefully wiser.
Except for the times, you can’t.
Those times you’ll not only be knocked out. But you’ll be robbed of everything and be left standing in your loincloth with nothing but a stick for a weapon and a trash bin for a shield to ward off danger.
This is failure.
But it does not have to be defeat.
You may have lost every physical item you had.
But you still have all your experience points.
You still have all your skills.
So the key to overcoming this labor is one thing.
Mindset.
Do you take your stick and trash can cover and look for the next orc to defeat? Or do you go back home to the life you had before?
The second trial is the labor of choice.
This labor causes as many, if not more, defeats, than the first labor.
The challenge for hero entrepreneurs is that many times this labor does not even feel like a trial, it feels like an opportunity.
Will the opportunity lead you and your party to a dragon’s horde or is it a siren song that will lead you to another round of your first labor?
But, this is what people don’t see in the 2nd labor.
The trial is not figuring out which choice to make.
It is the act of making the choice that is the trial.
In the beginning, you may come to forks in the road with two options.
But as you gain experience and gain a reputation as a hero entrepreneur, you will be presented with more opportunities.
There will come a day when you come to a fork in the road where you have dozens of choices.
All of which look promising.
What do you do then?
The key to making a choice is to know exactly what quest you are on. What is your mission?
How will the lives of others change when you achieve your quest? What is your vision?
By keeping that in mind, you won’t be overwhelmed by the number of choices.
You can avoid – most of the time – going down the path in search of the next shiny object or trinket.
That is the key to overcoming the second labor.
The 2 labors of entrepreneurship are not easy to overcome.
There was a reason the legend of Hercules is still talked about millennia after his legend was created.
He did what “mere mortals” can’t.
By becoming a hero entrepreneur, you are following in his footsteps.
It won’t be easy, but what you achieve could be the stuff of legends.
Have you faced one of these 2 labors in your hero entrepreneur journey recently?
Share it in the comments below so we can all learn from each other.
Leave a Reply