Destination Changes

By Jamie Anne Smith

People always say, "Life is about the journey, not the destination." What they don't tell you is that the destination changes. Learn how having the heart of an entrepreneur helped me survive, and even thrive, through disability, chronic illness, job loss, identity

• Language: English
• Publisher: Jamie Anne Smith
• Release date: Jun 7, 2024
• ISBN: 9798869371577

Book preview

Preface

What did you want to be when you grew up? Did you want to be a dancer? A police officer? A doctor? I dreamed of being an Olympic ice dancer for about ten seconds. 

One thing I never wanted to be was a business owner and you may not want that, either. This book is still for you. 

What I did want to be, more than anything else, was a journalist. I wanted to be a storyteller, to help others tell their stories. I never wanted to be the flashy Lois Lane. No, I was more Clark Kent. I wanted to be a mild-mannered, ethical newspaper reporter who righted wrongs by simply using words to keep people informed. 

That was precisely what I was. Until I wasn’t. I was laid off from my journalism job and knew that was the beginning of the end of life as I knew it. 

The truth is, really nothing in my life is what I imagined it would be. My home life is not what I envisioned or planned for; my health is drastically different, and my career is pretty much what I always said I would never do. 

So why would I bother writing a book about all that? More importantly for you, why should you read a book about that? 

Here’s the thing. It’s incredibly cliche, but people always say, Life is about the journey, not the destination. What they don’t tell you is the destination changes. 

In this book, you will learn how having the heart of an entrepreneur helped me survive through major disability, chronic illness, job loss, identity crisis, struggling faith, becoming a community advocate, and, naturally, the ins and outs of owning a business. What’s more, I hope you discover the same entrepreneurial spirit inside of you.

Chapter 1:

Heart Of An Entrepreneur

You know, it’s just life…and sometimes life gets in your way. That’s a paraphrase of a quote I heard somewhere, and it’s so incredibly accurate. We have goals and visions for our future and an idea of what that will look like. But life and what happens to us (or even because of us) can quickly get in the way of that vision and those goals. 

If you had told me five years ago that I would be the co-founder and president of a community development organization and focusing less on my own business, I would never have believed you. I guess that is a thing the so-called mindset people don’t tell you: sometimes, the destination changes.

And when the destination changes, it’s all about what is in your heart and mind. It’s what I call the heart of an entrepreneur. It is that heart–that spirit–that has seen me through all the things I listed in the preface of this book from life with a disability, to owning a business, to many other things that happened along my life journey that rerouted my plans. 

The heart of an entrepreneur is having the mindset and courage to do new things and find new ways, yet never losing who you need to be in the process. Keep in mind, someone with the heart of an entrepreneur may never actually start a business. Having the heart of an entrepreneur is about your whole life, not just your career path. 

Learning to have the heart of an entrepreneur is what helped me survive. Having the heart of an entrepreneur is somewhat natural for me. But it was also nurtured, developed, and, finally, recognized. A big part of this is how my parents intentionally raised me. They taught me to choose my battles but also not to quit when life got hard. Instead, they taught me to find other ways to reach my goals. 

As you read this book, you will find real-life examples (I’ve paraphrased some and combined others to protect privacy), and you’ll also find that I think it’s wise to always identify what a concept means–and what it doesn’t mean. This practice is something I’ve learned to do as I work to further my life story. 

At the end of most chapters, I ask reflection questions and I hope you’ll ask yourself even more. I hope you’ll ask yourself how my story relates to your own and what lessons you’re learning about yourself as you read. 

Chapter 2:

Definition Of An Entrepreneur

If you’re anything like me, you have some preconceived notions about what an entrepreneur even is. I’d go as far as to add that you likely also have ideas about what being an entrepreneur isn’t. 

Let’s get technical 

Let’s look at the official definition(s) of entrepreneurialism and the word entrepreneur.

Entrepreneurialism is the ability to start new businesses, especially when this involves seeing new opportunities to make money. 

The definition of an entrepreneur is: 

one who organizes, manages, and assumes the risks of a business or enterprise. 

My guess is that definition is precisely what you think of when you hear the words entrepreneurialism and entrepreneur, and that’s OK. Technically, those are the definitions but I want us to look a bit outside the proverbial box and think more of the entrepreneurial spirit or the heart of an entrepreneur. 

Our own definitions

So, since I can’t sit here and have a conversation with you, I want you to consider a few different words you would use to describe or define entrepreneur. I suggest writing them down. 

When I’ve done this exercise in workshops or conversations, most people say words like hard-working, work ethic, driven, independent, tired (I laugh at that one every time), and so on. Each word describes a person conducting entrepreneurialism. Most sound positive but realize each concept has a potential adverse side. 

Second, ask yourself what qualities you think of when you read entrepreneurialism. Include both the positive and negative ones. It’s OK. Now, what words, in general, do you associate with entrepreneurialism? Again, good and bad or just neutral. 

With that question, I usually get similar answers to the first question but also answers such as business owners, new ideas, problem-solving, etc. Most of these are what many see as what an entrepreneur does. 

I can’t see either of your lists, but I guess that everything you wrote down is true in one way or another. I’d also wager that you left off a few that you either didn’t think of or discounted out of your mind out of doubt. 

Now, I’m about to tell you to do something that is the cheesiest thing I’ve ever written, I’m pretty sure. I want you to imagine looking in a mirror. Tell me what you see. What you are looking at is the definition of an entrepreneur. How do I know?

You’re reading this book. Something inside your mind or heart said you needed to read this book. I’d say you have some level of the entrepreneurial spirit inside you. If I haven’t lost you with this little exercise, you will discover how true what I just said is. 

I want to briefly introduce what I consider the key traits of an entrepreneur, which we will examine in-depth throughout the coming chapters. 

The key traits of an entrepreneur: 

Finds solutions 

Isn’t afraid to fail (or tries anyway) 

Works within boundaries, but not a box 

Extends their comfort zone

Reframes circumstances 

Creates new paths 

Always learning.

Let’s talk more in the next chapter about how these traits are a part of discovering and developing your own heart of an entrepreneur. 

Chapter 3:

Key Traits Of An Entrepreneur

If I were to write