How to Start a Business

I just got back from a mini-moon, a word I am going to trademark.  When you are too busy or poor to go on a full-blown honeymoon, when you can only take 3-4 days, you go on a quick mini-moon instead!  Megan and I were married in October, but at the time, I was not healthy enough to travel.  So, we are going on several mini-moons.  Our first mini-moon was to Vegas, and I plan to propose subsequent mini-moons to Atlantis and to Disney.  Be interesting to see if she approves.  We stayed at the Venetian, which is completely over the top.  They have a square, an entire city square, St. Mark’s, inside the building.

And since I was on a honeymoon, I had lots of time to read!  I am reading the incredible SuperFreakonomics, by Steven Levitt and Stephen Dubner.  It is the sequel to Freakonomics, of course, probably the best book on economics written in the last 20 years.  In the first book, the two Stevens studied why sumo wrestlers cheat, how real estate agents rig the game, and how many teachers change their students’ standardized tests answers for the teachers’ benefit.   Their new tome asks how prostitutes are like department store Santas, why major league ball players are born in certain months, why suicide bombers should buy life insurance, why Iran is better at kidney transplants than the US, and many other vital questions.  You really should read this book.

The reason I bring all this up is this: they prove that “natural” ability is not important.  Raw talent is not important.  Time spent perfecting a skill is important.  Or, as they conclude, “expert performers – whether in soccer or piano playing, surgery or computer programming – are nearly always made, not born.”  My takeaway?  Entrepreneurship can be taught.  It is not something you are born with!

Related posts:

1. New Orleans Mini-moon (Entrepreneurs Dream)
2. Best Book List for Entrepreneurs (sort of)
3. Health Insurance for Entrepreneurs
4. Another Way to Get Health Insurance
5. ObamaCare is Good for Entrepreneurs