In my book, Mr. Monkey and Me – A Real Survival Guide for Entrepreneurs, I tell stories about the inner voice that tried over and over again to sabotage my career and squash my dreams. The voices of fear, uncertainty and doubt never seemed to end and candidly still sits with me as I type this blog post. I named the voice Mr. Monkey and he is one strong, focused son of a gun!
To help deal with him (or just shut him up even for an hour) I developed a practical methodology – the SHAPE formula. I wrote the book to help current or aspiring entrepreneurs stay on course, keep grinding it out and achieve their entrepreneurial dream.
One of the most surprising parts of my day job now as a venture capitalist at Next Coast Ventures is that I am not alone in dealing with this inner critic – be it a big hairy beast yelling at you or a small whisper in the wind. I have discovered that every entrepreneur deals with some form of “Mr. (or Mrs.) Monkey” – but the really excellent ones find different ways to stay the course and achieve greatness.
These select few find a way to keep chasing their dream, overcome the challenges that come along and find a way to keep fighting until they achieve amazing entrepreneurial success.
They are – in short – Monkey Masters!
I have been on a quest to learn from some of these amazing individuals so that I could continue to refine my own approach AND share them with you. In my new blog interview series, Monkey Masters, I will be interviewing some of the best entrepreneurs in the world and asking for tips, tricks, wisdom and learnings that helped them.
Hopefully, these observations will help you on your entrepreneurial journey – I know these interviews have taught me a tremendous amount.
So stay tuned – the first edition is right around the corner – and I hope you enjoy these learnings as much as I did!
#MonkeyMasters is coming soon!!!
