MENTORS MAGAZINE | EDITION 3 | 63As an entrepreneur we have to learn and
know so much – there are so many disci-
plines to master. Reading allows us to be
smarter from the start and do things right
from the beginning by learning how to
from smart and successful entrepreneurs
who have already dealt with the challenges
we are and will face before us. It is very
useful to get to un-
derstand how oth-
er entrepreneurs
became successful
not so that we can
copy exactly what
they did but to un-
derstand their pro-
cesses, journey and
mind-set.
Reading many books about entrepreneurs
gives us a lot of perspective which allows
us to realise that there is more than one
way to do things. We get to understand the
pros and cons of different approaches and
we are able to select the best way for our
businesses.
Reading books about entrepreneurs and
entrepreneurialism also provides inspira-
tion and reinforces our confidence. We
may already know what we want to be-
come and what to do but we haven’t yet
done anything about it. When we read, we
may discover confirmation of our existing
knowledge and beliefs which may become
a source of guidance and encouragement
for us to do whatever it is we want to do.We may feel stuck in our current position
with an idea and an understanding of what
it takes to set up and run a business but we
are paralysed by fear. Reading may provide
an additional boost to the knowledge that
we have already acquired and it may help
us to get unstuck
by overcoming the
fear. The boost of
the knowledge that
something worked
for somebody else
may also bolster
our confidence to
try it ourselves.Ultimately
knowledge is cumulative it builds like com-
pound interest. Over time with the right
approach we can aggregate our knowledge
about business and being an entrepreneur
as well as about our industry. I believe that
constant and never-ending learning is a re-
al opportunity for us to become smarter
than our competitors within our industry
so that our businesses become market
leaders. Successful people have the self-
discipline to apply and maintain this ap-
proach to business and life.As we acquire more information through
ongoing reading, we start to join the dots
and connect information from different