Why life needs entrepreneurial thinking: How making goals is like starting a business

I think that a lot of what entrepreneurs do is applicable to everyone. Our keen ability to find flaws in the status quo and then to take that initiative to spearhead a solution is something that we should apply to life itself and how we develop goals for ourselves.

A while back I talked about why I don’t have New Year’s Resolutions, and how we should reframe our thinking in terms of Life-Long Commitments (LLCs). Revisting this idea, I think the core at what I was getting at is that life goals shouldn’t be seen as something we create every year but instead represent some sort of North Star that gives us purpose. The exact goal can change, but the essence of what it is should stay the same.

In short, I think the metaphor that goals are a business is an enlightening angle that frames our thinking in terms of the legacy of our actions rather than reaching for the next safest path.

The acronym itself is meant to allude to the importance of life-long learning and be reminiscient of the acronym for businesses: Limited Liability Company. Both Life Long Commitmments and businesses take time to nurture, and it’s often hard to maintain it. But by viewing LLCs as a sort of business to grow, not a sort of one-off gig, I think we gain a greater sense of being in it for the long haul. As cliché as it might sound, I think there’s some truth in the saying that life’s a marathon, not a sprint.

To have a lasting business requires a long-term vision and the steps to execute that vision. A great entrepreneur does both–they have the vision and the execution to accomplish what hasn’t been done before. To succeed in life, we need the same. But I think that in the age of information, the fast pace of society, and the constant flow of distractions means that few people actually take the time to introspect and develop that long-term vision. And thus, thinking entrepreneurially and developing that vision is especially quintessential.

By thinking of our goals in terms of businesses, it naturally follows that we should only tackle a few goals, but address them deeply and meaningfully. After all, it’s nearly impossible to successfully split time between numerous businesses and the opportunity cost of pursuing an unmeaningful business is high.

It’s the same in life. Pursuing a path for which one has no passion is tiring and ultimately unfulfilling. Only when we find our passion are we able to pour our time and effort into the things we care about since it’s so much easier to find the time to do things we’re genuinely interested in. It didn’t bother me one bit making posters for Midway. I actually enjoyed visiting nearly two thirds of all teachers in my high school to get the word out. I was thrilled to contact the school administration for the necessary approval. It was easy for me because I’m passionate about it.

Beyond these guiding principles and our intuitions behind businesses, I think that the last and arguably the most important quality that all great entrepreneurs have is humility. To be the best we can be requires a strong ability to figure out what we’re doing well and what needs improvement. As we know from entrepreneurship, no product is ever perfect the first time around, but by iterating and testing our capbabilities we can, in the long run, approach perfection.