Misfit Entrepreneurs

Beautiful paragraph:<p>"To embrace the misfit in oneself is to be vulnerable. It is to forsake the easy acceptance that comes with fitting in and to instead be fortified by a kind of love, really. A love of life, a love of wonder, and, ultimately, a sustaining love for oneself. Far from egoism, that love for oneself is a measure of one's love for others, for humanity. And it is only from love that great ideas can be born."

This really struck a chord with me. As I walk into work everyday, I always think, why can't I be happy like every other guy walking into work.<p>All I want to do in the crowded elevator at work is to bleat out, like sheep, "Baaa baaa baaa". I always think how funny that would be. :)<p>Infact I would say I've lost a good chunk of income - (40,000 a year?) just paying for my "individuality". I've done this by telling bosses what I thought about their ideas and that (and yes I've used these words in verbatim) "I can only do things that _I_ feel are right. You can give me advice, but I might not follow it.". So I've lost out on a few promotions and money.<p>I've received scorn, been laughed at and sometimes even received "pity" from some of my friends who do whatever their bosses tell them to do and are getting compensated well for it.<p>And the whole reason I've done this is because I've always felt that:<p>1. The only thing that will help me to be independent in the future as an entrepreneur is to be independent right now.<p>2. If I lose this ability to be myself, I lose everything - ie the ability to ever hope to start my own thing.<p>Now I might be completely wrong about this and I might have gone to extremes at time, but this concept of "being a misfit" is something I've cherished. Hopefully in the near future, when I have my own venture again, we'll see if I was right and whether this is as valuable as I've always thought :).<p>At the very least, I can say that its never been boring :).<p>(Background: The reason I've not been able to start my own thing fulltime has been because of a green card. But now I finally have it and have given myself a 5 month window to start with my side project hopefully being my second venture.)

Vulnerability is the ultimate test of confidence. It is the willingness to let others judge you and subject yourself to their mis-belief. To make yourself vulnerable requires a solid grounding that isn't dependent on other's approval.<p>Inevitably, great entrepreneurs live in a world of vision that is beyond what their peers will allow themselves to believe. Th author of this article is right on in describing great ideas as an expression of love. It is the same as athleticism. Great athletes push the boundaries of what human beings are capable of, and anyone who has pursued an athletic endeavor knows that when we reach the brink of our ability the motivation is primal and pure.<p>So much of what we do is in an effort to protect ourselves, maybe it would be worth it to spend more time exposing our weakness to the world and becoming more sensitive to honesty and integrity.

I'm having a hard time figuring out what the author means by "vulnerable" here. Seems like a mellifluous but semantically empty use of the word.

Great article. I disagree though with the notion that being vulnerable is the common trait. Definitely being a misfit is. As the article says "the great entrepreneur in 2010 is the one who goes to Disneyland and asks: is this all there is?"<p>Always question what everyone takes for granted.

I do not find anything new in this article. A very hideous way of saying entrepreneurs need to chanllege the status quo.