Do you really believe that being an entrepreneur is not a job, it is an identity? Is being an entrepreneur just about “now” or is it part of your journey to live a more fulfilling life? There is no wrong answer. But my guess is that you can’t imagine returning to the “old self” that existed before you became an entrepreneur. I’d also bet that you have five—or one hundred—ideas swirling around your brain and a few hidden in deep storage waiting for your copyright application to be processed.

For me, creating The Lonely Entrepreneur was the next step in my journey as an entrepreneur. After selling my health rewards business, my plan was to simply start a small consulting firm around health rewards. With the reputation we built, that would have been easy. Then I stumbled upon The Lonely Entrepreneur and the feeling shook me awake and reminded me that I am an entrepreneur. New ideas are a part of me—like oxygen. And while The Lonely Entrepreneur is of course about entrepreneurs, it is also my latest idea. And like you, I feel the pressure to bring it to life, the passion to help other entrepreneurs, and the pleasure of seeing real progress, or hearing an entrepreneur say to me, “The Lonely Entrepreneur helped me changed my perspective and make progress in my business.” I also feel the pain of getting something off the ground again—the feeling that we are not getting solutions and support to entrepreneurs as quickly as we should. Now, however, I know what to do with those thoughts and perspectives.

Imagine looking back on your life and regretting the idea you never pursued. I would do anything to give him that chance. As entrepreneurs, we owe it to each other to never, never, never let that happen. We can’t let the nagging voice of our insecurity taunt us—“Am I really cut out for this?”

“Can I really make this happen?” It isn’t a choice, it’s who we are. We must find a way to be better entrepreneurs so that we never look back and say to ourselves, “I wish I had.” Mark Twain said, “Twenty years from now, you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do.”

Let’s make a promise to each other. We must make a conscious effort to become better entrepreneurs so that the ideas, thoughts and visions that seethe through our veins come to life. That doesn’t mean that we must execute on every crazy idea we have. In fact, part of being a good entrepreneur is knowing which ideas are the right ones to pursue and when. But we must embrace our identity—and this means committing to a lifelong journey to bring ideas to life and to be the arbiters of our own visions.

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