How to Think Entrepreneurially

Entrepreneurship ain’t about making a “startup”, “pitching a company”, or getting a company to “go public” (IPO), and becoming a unicorn worth a billion dollars.

I say— entrepreneurship as a mindset, ethos, and a way of life and living.

How studying sociology helped me think more entrepreneurially

As an undergraduate I studied sociology which a lot of people said—

Oh, sociology is only useful to become a sociology professor, teacher, social worker, etc.

However I found the opposite to be the case. Sociology was the most real and practical major — it made me challenge societal norms (the root of entrepreneurship), and ask the never ending question:

Why?

“I’m never satisfied, can’t knock my hustle”

“You can take away the hunger from me, but you cannot ever satiate me”.

Ironically enough — the best education to think more entrepreneurially is a “hard knock” education. Growing up poor with no or few resources — the best way to increase your scrappiness, and resourcefulness. Extreme resourcefulness — anyone who has grown up poor knows this mindset, feeling and approach. Even as an adult now that I’ve become far richer, I still cannot shake this feeling of resourcefulness. I still prefer value, getting good deals, and buying used or refurbished over buying new.

The first key to thinking entrepreneurially:

Given my shitty situation with little or no resources, how can I harness what I already have right now to maximize myself, grow, expand and move?

Extreme pride in yourself

Becoming an entrepreneur means:

To disdain deeply how others do their thing, and to discover more pride in how *YOU* do your thing.

For us entrepreneurs, pride is a virtue.

No walls— all is inter-connected

I still think much on how Steve Jobs studied calligraphy in school, and unbeknownst to him this would later transfer into Macintosh computers actually having interchangeable and beautiful fonts. Let us not forget back in the day of ugly MS DOS interfaces, all the computer nerds had no artistic vision or desire or need for “fonts”.

Cross pollination is something I believe deeply in — to cross all your personal interests and things which you are curious in. This will help you become more unique in ways you can never have imagined.

How I became myself

selfie Ricoh gr iii ERIC KIM

For me, it was mixing sociology with photography which gave birth or direction to my interest in street photography (street sociology). My interest in philosophy, aesthetics and everyday living which led me to stoicism, zen, Taoism. My passion and interest in becoming self employed, and free, and my interest in lifestyle experimentation which led me to my interest in entrepreneurship.

Think different.

Perhaps the ultimate ethos for entrepreneurship is to simply think differently from others, behave and act differently from others. Then the irony is:

To think entrepreneurially, read or consume as little literature on entrepreneurship as possible.

This is because if the root of entrepreneurship is to think, act and behave differently — you must *NOT* be or think like others! To disdain all new trends, knowledge, information, tastes, etc. When in doubt, opt for more classic philosophy or literature and thoughts.