It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.
-Theodore Roosevelt
"The Man In The Arena"
Speech at the Sorbonne
Paris, France
April 23, 1910
Speech at the Sorbonne
Paris, France
April 23, 1910
The above speech is by far one of my favorite speeches in history. An excerpt from this was painted on my bedroom wall at home and it is quickly becoming the directive for my life.
This blog is intended simply to be a diary of the ups and downs that come along with being an entrepreneur, from someone who holds a doctorate degree in clinical psychology. Possibly, this blog will offer someone inspiration along the way of their own entrepreneurial pursuits. Yesterday, I was contacted by a former colleague from graduate school who asked me to take down the term "entrepsychologist" from this site, because she was "concerned" that this might confuse those in the community.
Now usually, I don't tend to spend much time beyond a simple "get a life" response, but I think this event has some definite relevance for the purposes of this blog.
During the course of one's entrepreneurial pursuits, it is likely that you will encounter a few of these "entrepre-haters." This term refers to individuals who are dissatisfied with the monotony and normalcy of being a working stiff and seek a false sense of purpose and meaning by attacking those that had the courage to think outside the box.
This can be quite disconcerting and even upsetting if you are a beginning entrepreneur just starting out. Part of the entrepreneur's psychology is that they are emotionally vulnerable to outside attack. Until you are successful- you have a sense of vulnerability. You, yourself are in doubt of your chosen path, and when others try to bring you down, this can feel like a punch to the gut. However, do not be deterred. Let me say this again DO NOT BE DETERRED. This is one of the hardest lessons learned by most entrepreneurs. They have acquired a thick skin that is impermeable to outside attacks. They understand that there will always be criticism if they put themselves "in the arena."
Throughout graduate school I was the decided victim of one of the clinical faculty. For whatever reason, she decided that she would make my life a little more difficult than the rest. While I was doing a supplemental practicum (to earn extra money while in school), she wrote an email informing me that because a year had passed, she was afraid I would have to become licensed if I wanted to continue working. Determined to keep my employment, I did exactly that. I took three months to study for the EPPP and paid thousands in registration and study materials.
A year later, she called numerous meetings to talk to me about my lack of respect for her and how she felt a "push" in one of my emails. A few months later, when I made a mistake at a practicum, she jumped on this like a blood thirsty shark and told me that "out of professional integrity" she felt she needed to place me on academic probation and contact all of the internship sites I had secured an interview with (this was after thousands had been spent to fly to these interviews for my pre-doctoral residency). I did not match with the rest of my classmates because of her actions. Undeterred, I contacted non accredited sites and found a site willing to take me on for about $3.60/hour. I said yes immediately, and I was off to San diego!
A year and a half later, I am now Dr. Long and these emotional scars have started the foundation for a thicker skin. They say the best lessons learned are often the hardest lessons earned. That was certainly true in my case. I hope that during your pursuits you never have to encounter people of this "entrepre-hater" magnitude, but I can guarantee you will encounter opposition. Take it as a pat on the back that you are now an officially an entrepreneur, and leave the entrepre-haters to bother someone else.
This blog is intended simply to be a diary of the ups and downs that come along with being an entrepreneur, from someone who holds a doctorate degree in clinical psychology. Possibly, this blog will offer someone inspiration along the way of their own entrepreneurial pursuits. Yesterday, I was contacted by a former colleague from graduate school who asked me to take down the term "entrepsychologist" from this site, because she was "concerned" that this might confuse those in the community.
Now usually, I don't tend to spend much time beyond a simple "get a life" response, but I think this event has some definite relevance for the purposes of this blog.
During the course of one's entrepreneurial pursuits, it is likely that you will encounter a few of these "entrepre-haters." This term refers to individuals who are dissatisfied with the monotony and normalcy of being a working stiff and seek a false sense of purpose and meaning by attacking those that had the courage to think outside the box.
This can be quite disconcerting and even upsetting if you are a beginning entrepreneur just starting out. Part of the entrepreneur's psychology is that they are emotionally vulnerable to outside attack. Until you are successful- you have a sense of vulnerability. You, yourself are in doubt of your chosen path, and when others try to bring you down, this can feel like a punch to the gut. However, do not be deterred. Let me say this again DO NOT BE DETERRED. This is one of the hardest lessons learned by most entrepreneurs. They have acquired a thick skin that is impermeable to outside attacks. They understand that there will always be criticism if they put themselves "in the arena."
Throughout graduate school I was the decided victim of one of the clinical faculty. For whatever reason, she decided that she would make my life a little more difficult than the rest. While I was doing a supplemental practicum (to earn extra money while in school), she wrote an email informing me that because a year had passed, she was afraid I would have to become licensed if I wanted to continue working. Determined to keep my employment, I did exactly that. I took three months to study for the EPPP and paid thousands in registration and study materials.
A year later, she called numerous meetings to talk to me about my lack of respect for her and how she felt a "push" in one of my emails. A few months later, when I made a mistake at a practicum, she jumped on this like a blood thirsty shark and told me that "out of professional integrity" she felt she needed to place me on academic probation and contact all of the internship sites I had secured an interview with (this was after thousands had been spent to fly to these interviews for my pre-doctoral residency). I did not match with the rest of my classmates because of her actions. Undeterred, I contacted non accredited sites and found a site willing to take me on for about $3.60/hour. I said yes immediately, and I was off to San diego!
A year and a half later, I am now Dr. Long and these emotional scars have started the foundation for a thicker skin. They say the best lessons learned are often the hardest lessons earned. That was certainly true in my case. I hope that during your pursuits you never have to encounter people of this "entrepre-hater" magnitude, but I can guarantee you will encounter opposition. Take it as a pat on the back that you are now an officially an entrepreneur, and leave the entrepre-haters to bother someone else.
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