I was discussing my early aspirations of becoming an investment banker with a friend a couple of days ago. I told him about my experience during my first internship at the investment banking division of a multi-national bank. It turned out, that to climb the ladder of success using this route would involve a lot of data-entry, and expert use of excel and powerpoint, for the better part of my 20′s and 30′s. It took me 3 days to quit my internship, on the grounds that this was definitely not what I wanted to be doing. During our conversation on the phone, I used the phrase “An impatience to Succeed”. I reflected on that phrase after the call, and realized that this was a common trait in many entrepreneurs. We have lofty ambitions for ourselves, and want to reach them as soon as possible. We may not be looking for shortcuts to success, but are definitely in search for a faster route than the traditional one.

In order to achieve this goal, we have to get off the beaten track, and figure out a faster and more efficient route to reach our target destination. This is the point where we begin to diverge, question the norms, and ask “Why can we not do this differently?” A mix of circumstances catapults us into the crazy world of entrepreneurship, where we have to take responsibility for our lives. In a way this “impatience” to succeed may appear to be jumping the gun, and not quite “earning” our success using a traditional path. The point that is constantly raised is, if we set out to achieve all these goals at this frighteningly fast pace, we will lose the ability to actually value success for what it is worth. Although I understand that point of view, I think it fails to address the fact that we all have different priorities and values through which we measure our success .

In conclusion this impatience to succeed, is synonymous with the drive that fuel’s most entrepreneurs to push them selves further. Testing the limits is something we live for, and though sometimes we do push a little too hard, that is how you learn about your thresholds. Putting yourself out of your comfort zone is not an easy thing to do, for anyone. It requires great confidence in your own abilities, as well as faith in your own ability to achieve what you have set out to do. Life really is too short to sit around and wait for things to happen. The world is moving too fast today, and if we do not keep our eyes on the ball, and push ourselves to our limits, we may live to regret what could have been…..