Think like an entrepreneur

— -- What you are dreaming about is called entrepreneurship.

The origin of the word is entreprendre, French for "to undertake." Notice that this word emphasizes an attempt to act, and not the outcome of that action: you undertake something, and the implication is that what matters is that you have started on a journey and accepted that it's an open-ended one.

Someone who needs an extremely high level of security might be challenged by an entrepreneurial lifestyle, yet a lot of people who don't think of themselves as embracing risk become entrepreneurs. The key is that although a successful entrepreneur takes risks, those risks are measured. Though entrepreneurs frequently go out on limbs, the ones that make it generally test that limb first to make sure it has a good chance of bearing their weight.

Entrepreneurship can be applied to virtually any field or profession. No matter what products and services are currently on the market in your area of expertise, there are always opportunities to improve them and to better serve the customers who buy them. That said, if you're a true entrepreneur, you likely possess the following key characteristics:

• You are driven to succeed. You're so motivated to achieve your goals that you are prepared to overcome obstacles that would likely discourage or stop others.

• You are a self-starter and go-getter. Rather than waiting for someone to issue instructions, you take initiative. And you can be innovative—you constantly think "out of the box" when attempting to meet challenges.

• You routinely see opportunities where others see problems. Rather than feeling defeated when you encounter roadblocks to your goals, you feel energized. Challenges spur rather than deter you.

• You take control of your own destiny and bear responsibility for your own actions. The buck truly stops with you when it comes to dealing with the results—both positive and negative—of decisions you make or actions you take.