Topic > Review of What Entrepreneurs Can Teach Us About Life by Stephen Hicks

A good number of people view success as a formula to follow, a matter of adjusting for x and y. People constantly ask the Walt Disneys and Steve Jobs of the world how they achieved their status, so that one day they can live as they do. However, Stephen Hicks of the Wall Street Journal disagrees. In the article “What Entrepreneurs Can Teach Us About Life” (1) he argues that trying to fit a formula for success is simply a path to stagnation, at best. All people need, in his opinion, is to tap into their innate entrepreneurial spirit and work diligently and creatively. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay His article opens with him talking about how many see risk-taking entrepreneurs "as larger-than-life characters" or as a "breed apart"" by many. However, Hicks goes on to not only say this is false , but also saying that entrepreneurs are the way they are because they have drawn on fundamental human characteristics and instincts and perfected them. According to him, creativity and tenacity are the two keys to the entrepreneurial spirit. He demonstrates how these elements are rooted in people by tracing them down to purest mental phases of a person's life: childhood. He states halfway through the article, “Entrepreneurs are creators of rules and often break them” and links this form of creativity to the invented or modified games that children imagine in playground. This last element is connected to a 3-year-old girl who undertakes to carry out a project on her own, despite her difficulties. Next, Hicks explains why these attributes may fade in adulthood. The recurring theme of the next section, why adults have difficulty tapping into the entrepreneurial spirit of their childhood, is fear. Fear of “self-investment,” fear of “failure and disapproval,” fear that it may be “too late to change.” Hicks responds to each of these fears with a rebuttal. In the last paragraphs, the author himself asks us to expand the horizons of our world, concluding the article with the note that the reader should “break at least one rule every day. “Hicks' article on the entrepreneurial spirit and the inner workings of the entrepreneur's mind connects most closely to the content of Chapter 5. In particular, it hits the same notes about how entrepreneurs want to take charge of themselves and overcome challenges (highlighted with the example of the article of the little girl working on a project). However, the message of the article and the notes conflict on one point – namely on the characteristics of entrepreneurs themselves. The notes specify that entrepreneurs should generally have personalities creative and high-energy, while Hicks' central point was that the only thing that stops people from harnessing the entrepreneurial spirit is fear and insecurity. These fears were also concerns raised and discussed in Chapter 5 The Fear of Investing large amounts of time and energy without decent returns can only be overcome with the motivation to keep going This also links to the fear of failure, but as the article states, “confident and indecisive lives turn us into automatons” and so do people. most famous ones have failed time and time again – Walt Disney had two dead studios under his belt before he created the cultural monolith. this is Disney, and it took Ford until its Model T (starting with the A) to see true success in the auto industry. Finally, there is the fear of starting too late.