The Self-Reliant Entrepreneur

August 23Radical Humility

Noise proves nothing. Often a hen who has merely laid an egg cackles as if she had laid an asteroid.

Mark Twain—Following the Equator (1897)

Here's a common entrepreneurial balancing act. The world needs to know that you're kind of a big deal, because then more people will want to—buy from you, write about you, work for you, talk about you, invite you … but then that turns into the … “Humbled to be named to the top 1,137 entrepreneurs in Poughkeepsie to follow on Twitter” status update.

That's not humbled; humbled is what you get when someone calls you out on how ridiculous that post is. But that's the celebrity-seeking times we live in, right?

Self-reliant entrepreneurs don't spend time thinking less about themselves; they just spent less time talking about themselves. They spend more time listening, asking for help, testing their theories, praising others, and most important, admitting when they are wrong.

This Emerson quote gets at the value of humility: “Practice radical humility. Those who master the art of humility cannot be humiliated.”

Self-reliant entrepreneurs can't be humiliated.

Today, practice not taking credit for anything—and please, no humble brags on Facebook.

Challenge Question

1. What is your definition of humility?