What secret made Bill Gates the richest man in the
world?
Was Aliko Dangote; the richest black man in the
word born to be an entrepreneur?
How did Oprah Winfrey become a talk show
billionaire and richest black woman in the world
which other talk show hosts battle with mediocrity?
How come the most successful entrepreneurs in the
world are drop out billionaires?
What separates the 50 year old individuals who are
still struggling to live on a $50,000 salary from the
young billionaires who are in their 20s and 30s ?

This article will provide an answer to all the
questions asked above.
Quite a number of times, I have heard the phrase
that “ entrepreneurship is a calling.” I think there’s
an atom of truth in that statement.
Entrepreneurship is a call to self actualization; a call
to serve and improve the well being of humanity.
Now every human being on earth has a calling; a
specific purpose why he/she was created but it takes focus and spiritual understanding to discover that purpose.
“Most people live and die with their music still
unplayed. They never dare to try.” – Mary Kay Ash
Now what’s the secret of the most successful
entrepreneurs?
The answer to this question is simple. The most
successful entrepreneurs simply discovered their
purpose; found their entrepreneurial spirit and
stayed true to their calling.
“It was in my life’s darkest moment, when there
seem to be no hope that I discovered my
entrepreneurial spirit. I thank God for that situation.
If not for that single situation, I might have died
without giving that entrepreneurial spirit in me a
chance to manifest.” – Ajaero Tony Martins
Finding the entrepreneurial spirit made Oprah
Winfrey, the richest talk show host. It’s this same
entrepreneurial spirit that propelled Christopher
Columbus to embark on the voyage that changed the world.
It’s this same entrepreneurial spirit that kept Larry
Ellison going even after dropping out of college
twice; same goes with Bill Gates, Michael Dell,
Ingvar Kamprad, Orji Uzor Kalu, Steve Jobs and
Richard Branson.
“It isn’t until you come to a spiritual understanding
of who you are – not necessarily a religious feeling,
but deep down the spirit within – that you can begin
to take control.” – Oprah Winfrey

The same entrepreneurial spirit was responsible for
the tremendous success of Andrew Carnegie, Ray
Kroc, Debbi Fields, Mary Kay Ash, Cosmos Maduka,
Henry Ford and Li Ka Shing ; despite their lack of
formal education.

General Electric and Wal-Mart remain relevant today because they are still being guided by the
entrepreneurial spirit of their founders; Thomas
Edison and Sam Walton respectively. This same
entrepreneurial spirit kept Ingvar Kamprad and
Warren Buffett in the game even in old age.
“I’m not afraid of turning 80 and I have lots of things
to do. I don’t have time for dying.” – Ingvar Kamprad. “I get to do what I like to do every single day of the year.” – Warren Buffett
So if the entrepreneurial spirit is vital to success in
business; how can you awaken this spirit?
Without wasting much of your time, below are seven steps you can take to awaken your entrepreneurial spirit.

1. Develop your Mindset
“I like thinking big. If you’re going to be thinking
anything, you might as well think big.” – Donald
Trump Awakening your entrepreneurial spirit begins with the development of your mindset. If you are not in the right mindset; if you lack the right perception, your entrepreneurial spirit will remain dormant. The entrepreneurial spirit thrives in a body with the right attitude and you have to be a positive thinker to harness the power of the entrepreneurial spirit.
“Like success, failure is many things to many people. With positive mental attitude, failure is a learning experience, a rung on the ladder, and a plateau at which to get your thoughts in order to prepare to try again.” – W. Clement Stone
You must also develop your mind to see
opportunities where others see problems; and
above all, you must change your perception towards challenges and failure. You must see problems as a stepping stone, not as a stumbling block.
“Someone asked me, ‘how can I find a good
business opportunity? I replied, ‘go and look for
adversity.’ If you can handle adversity, you will find
opportunity. Adversity and opportunity are two
inseparable twins.” – Ajaero Tony Martins

2. Develop your Self Belief
“Some people intertwine self belief and faith but I
stand to say they are not the same. Faith is not self
belief. While faith says it can be done, self belief
says ‘I can do it.’ While faith says there is possibility,
Self belief says ‘I am the possibility.’ Faith without
self belief is vain.” – Ajaero Tony Martins
The next step to awakening your entrepreneurial
spirit is to develop a strong believe in yourself.
Without self belief, you entrepreneurial spirit will
never manifest. “Don’t limit yourself. Many people
limit themselves to what they think they can do. You
can go as far as your mind lets you. What you
believe, remember you can achieve.” – Mary Kay
Ash

3. Follow Your Instinct
“Follow your instincts, that’s where true wisdom
manifest itself.” – Oprah Winfrey
I came to realize the power of my instinct after
reading Felix Dennis’s book “ How to be Rich.” In that book, Felix Dennis explained that your instinct is that goose pimples that form on your body
whenever you come across a potential business
opportunity; it’s the excitement and the
“ let’s do it” voice inside your heart. “Screw it, let’s do it.” – Richard Branson
You must train yourself to understand yourself. You
should know when your instinct is giving you a
nudge to forge ahead; you should learn to obey your
instinct. When Richard Branson was presented with
the airline business idea; he followed his instinct
and started Virgin Atlantic despite the glaring fact
that he would be going head to head against the
giant British Airways.
Today, VIRGIN is a worldwide recognized brand. “A
business has to be involving, it has to be fun and it
has to exercise your creative instincts.” – Richard
Branson
Christopher Columbus followed his instinct to
embark on the voyage and he discovered America.
Bill Gates, Michael Dell, Larry Ellison and Richard
Branson all followed their instinct and dropped out
of school. Today, they are the world’s celebrated
drop out billionaires.
“Experience taught me a few things. One is to listen
to your gut no matter how good something sounds
on paper. The second is that you are generally
better off sticking with what you know and the third
is that sometimes, your best investments are the
ones you don’t make.” – Donald Trump

4. Learn to take Risk;
it is part of the game From personal observation; it
seems risky ventures forces the entrepreneurial
spirit into manifestation. I have seen men break
barriers where others think the game is over. “You
must take risks, both with your own money or with
borrowed money. Risk taking is essential to business growth.” – J. Paul Getty
When everyone had the perception that the world
was flat; Christopher Columbus took the risk to sail
around the world and bumped into America. When
everyone said it was impossible for humans to fly;
the Wright brothers held on to their dreams and
took the risk to fly the first airplane. Virgin Atlantic
was a risk; Microsoft’s windows was a risk, Oracle
was a risk and so also was Dell. As a last note, I want it to sink into your skull that the entrepreneurial spirit thrives on risk.
“I had to give it a go and see what happens.” –
Michael Dell “To win big, you sometimes have to
take big risks.” – Bill Gates


5. Embrace Competition
“When somebody challenges you, fight back. Be
brutal, be tough.” – Donald Trump
Just as the entrepreneurial spirit thrives on risk; so
also does it thrive in a competitive environment.
Most people shy away from building a business
because of the competition involved; they don’t dare
to undergo the entrepreneurial process because of
the business challenges.
“I have been within the four walls of school and I
have been on the street. I can confidently tell you
that the street is tougher, challenging, daring,
exciting and more rewarding. In school; you play
alone. But on the street, you play with the big boys.”
– Ajaero Tony Martins
If you must awaken your entrepreneurial spirit; then you must be willing to face competition. In fact, you must be willing to seek it out just like Richard Branson and Larry Ellison. It’s my job for Oracle, the number two software company in the world; to become the number one software company in the world. My job is to build better than the competition, sell those products in the marketplace and eventually supplant Microsoft and move from being number two to number one.” – Larry Ellison

7. Take action
“You have to act and act now.” – Larry Ellison
All your dreams, aspirations and ambition will be in
vain if you don’t take action. The entrepreneurial
spirit manifests itself in the doing phase; not the
planning or dreaming phase. If you want to awaken
your spirit; then start the entrepreneurial process
and build a business.
The business challenges involved in the
entrepreneurial process will force your spirit into
action.
“And obviously from our own personal point of
view, the principal challenge is a personal
challenge.” – Richard Branson
Sometimes I stay up 20hours a day; I keep forging
ahead to make sure I achieve my aim without getting bored or stressed up. What’s driving me forward; what’s the source of this energy. I think the answer is the spirit with which I carry out my business obligations. As a final note, I leave you with this quote:
“Nothing gives me a sense of fulfillment more than
building successful businesses from scratch. Once
my goal is achieved in a particular business; I exit
and start another business. Building businesses
from scratch is where my passion lies and I am not
quitting until death.” – Ajaero Tony Martins


“Without passion, you don’t have energy. Without
energy, you have nothing.” – Warren Buffett