Have You Forgotten Where You Have Come From?

Tuesday, January 2, 2007 at 02:33pm by William Quisenberry in Innovation

Now we have officially closed out another successful and enjoyable year and entered into a new one that is bound to be packed with action, fun, rewards and growth.

Now is the time everyone is beginning to set goals, re-evaluate old goals to measure accomplishments, set those New Years Resolutions which will most likely be broken in a week and make plans to fulfill new strides in business.

However I began to question myself as I entered the 2007 New Year and I challenge you to possibly do the same. No I wasn’t necessarily questioning myself in a negative way, but just reviewing to see if I began to sway from my original goals and intentions.

I realized that maybe I’ve gotten caught up in the “lifestyle!” Now I know that entrepreneurship requires a lot of time and effort, and many times there are things that must be given up. However at times I think that we can drift away from our true foundations that are truly important in life.

For instance I don’t spend near as much time with my family, which is highly important to me. I’m always telling my family members that, “I’m sorry I haven’t been by to visit, but I’ve just been so busy.”

I don’t get to Church near as much as I use to, why; oh yea, “Because I’m too busy.”

I use to be active in my community, always volunteering, helping to build houses for the poor and less fortunate. Going to shelters and serving dinners, tutoring/mentoring at my old high school and middle school trying to target “At Risk” children from the inner-city, going back to my old neighborhood and encouraging the kids that they can rise above their negative atmospheres and lead a successful and prosperous life.

Now I can’t remember the last time I was engaged in such activity and I haven’t been back to my old community to speak with the youth in quite a long time. No turkey drives, no after school activities, no church, no family, just hustle and bustle!

Now I find myself trying to make it seem as though I’m still committed to these activities, so I’ll make financial donations to my church or other charities instead of actually getting involved, which I consider to be fairly shallow and kind of like an easy way of cheating.

I realized that I’ve gotten away from my true foundations and intentions. I didn’t become an entrepreneur for the title, I didn’t choose this lifestyle for just the rewards and I definitely didn’t choose it to disconnect myself from my true roots.

I encourage each of you to focus in on the “important” aspects of life and always follow and seek them. It’s these simple, but highly important things in life that will always remain the root of your happiness and success, things like family, friends, faith in God, community and service.

You can become the greatest and most successful entrepreneur that this great earth has ever known, accomplish wealth and fame beyond ones largest and most imaginable dreams, but once you pass on, it will all seize to nothing at all.

True success lies in what you pass to others; don’t let your work, legacy and dreams deteriorate into nothing because you didn’t focus on anything but yourself. Give back, uplift others and teach tomorrow’s leaders how they truly can pursue and achieve success.

We have been placed in positions where we can do a lot more than simply writing a check to our local charities, just remember your true intentions and don’t forget where you have come from. If you don’t know where you have come from, you will have no clue where you are truly going.

Have a blessed and prosperous 2007 all my fellow Entrepreneurs!

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