Jeff Weber Ventures

I thought I would share an excerpt from my book, I.D.E.A. to Exit: An Entrepreneurial Journey.  It is one of the last chapters and it holds a lot of special meanings that are reflective of the entrepreneur. 

“Entrepreneurs are ordinary people that do extraordinary things.”

—Jeff Weber

 Extraordinary is one of my favorite adjectives. It is two words extra and ordinary joined to characterize what is beyond normal or usual. People and events described as extraordinary are exceptional, remarkable, and beyond everyday achievement. An entrepreneur’s efforts and achievements are often defined as extraordinary and they most certainly are. Successful entrepreneurs represent a very small percentage of the population. They take on the enormous task of launching a venture and survive daunting odds to remain in business. They are able to achieve the extraordinary because they researched, planned, and prepared to be successful. Most importantly, they put in a lot of hard work and long hours to make it happen.

“If I believe I cannot do something, it makes me incapable of doing it. But when I believe I can, then I

acquire the ability to do it, even if I did not have the ability in the beginning.”—Mahatma Gandhi

Entrepreneurs are ordinary people who do extraordinary things. When I launched TRC, I knew there were individuals who were smarter, more talented, and better financed than me, but I had the heart, desire, and effort to outperform most of them. I was fueled by passion and activated by the entrepreneurial formula.

As a result of achieving the extraordinary, people are celebrated and revered by others. However, the greatest recognition and reward tends to be internal to the entrepreneur. An idea was sparked, acted upon and tremendous unseen sacrifice was made to make it a success.

If few achieve the entrepreneurial equivalent of extraordinary and even less have the opportunity to pull off an extraordinary rescue or feat of heroism, where is their opportunity for extraordinary in our day to day lives? Does one have to wait for the right situation and circumstances?

 We all can achieve the extraordinary by acting on ordinary things that occur in daily situations. Opportunities are all around. All it takes is the conscious decision to act. Long-term planning and preparation is not required for these types of extraordinary. The extraordinary can be the choice to stop your car to remove dangerous debris from the street or to help a turtle cross the road. Choose not to gossip. Become a volunteer reader. Cut the elderly neighbor’s lawn. Intentionally meet new people. Purposely ask to be of assistance.

Brush snow off the car next to yours. Work at a charity as well as donating your money. Give up your seat on the bus. Act on one of your ideas to make your workplace better or more productive. Seek to create extraordinary events to benefit others and you will come to know extraordinary.

 Extraordinary happens when you break your daily routine. Take time to do something new with your children or your spouse. Go somewhere different on a vacation. Do something you’ve never done before. Help someone, who you’ve never met. I guarantee that if you routinely vacation to Florida and instead take a trip to New York City and reserve one or two days out of that trip to help in a city shelter, you’ll talk about that trip and the experiences you had for the rest of your life.

Your extraordinary may not make headlines but it will invigorate your soul and your purpose for being. It will revitalize your relationships and create new ones. It will deliver purpose, meaning, and substance to your work and for your employer. Best of all, it may profoundly touch someone in a way that you will never know or be able to fully appreciate.

 Ben Hollis, a talented and gifted writer, television personality, thespian, and now philosopher of sorts, (and a bit of a Chicago legend) personifies the extraordinary. He created a show called Wild Chicago that aired on the public broadcasting network and ran for 15 years. The show was a fast-paced, thirty-minute reality show before the advent of reality shows. Ben would find the most obscure, bizarre, and creative people and businesses in and around Chicago. Donning his signature pith helmet, safari shirt, and jungle shorts, Ben set out to find the wild side of Chicago and report on those people who were living wild in the city. For his efforts and innovation Ben won eight Emmys, the Studs Terkel award from the Pulitzer Prize winner himself, and numerous other recognitions. That alone is rather extraordinary!

 About five years after the last Wild Chicago episode aired, Ben reinvented himself and the WILD theme. Reflecting on his own life and accomplishments, he summed up what was responsible for his extraordinary career in the prefix of the show. Ben’s discovery of his success was really by reflection of his failures. Many of his early personal and professional decisions were not focused on what Ben wanted, but subconsciously on what he thought others wanted from him. All of this led to an unfulfilled life that at times brought depression, anxiety, and a sense of incompleteness.

 Only by establishing a sense of purpose and direction of what he desired was Ben able to move toward relationships and career aspirations that matched his passions. When he started taking care of what he wanted and needed, things started to fall into place. By stepping out of his Risk Box Ben was able to meet new people and force introductions which eventually would lead him to a producer at PBS with an idea to feature local Chicago businesses and hot spots around town.

 By discovering Wild Chicago, Ben discovered the wild in him that drives his passion and stirs his soul. Ben’s recent rediscovery was that wild defined him and he in turn defined W.I.L.D. as an acronym for What I Love Doing. On April 25, 2009, Ben introduced his keynote address and soon-to-be-released book titled W.I.L.D. about Living and Loving. He delivered an insightful, motivating, funny, and theatrical performance that stirred the audience. With relative ease, Ben explained how everyone can live an extraordinary W.I.L.D. life that is enriching and focused on spending all of your 86,400 seconds every day doing what you love doing. It’s a way to live your life and the way you should live your life.

I love living W.I.L.D.—doing what I love doing in business and in all facets of my life. The Risk Box and fear prevents us from living W.I.L.D., but I’ve proven that the Risk Box can be shattered. It is a false prison.

 A recent ad I came across from Cisco seemed to sum up this sentiment best:

There’s never been a better time to change.

To find new ways to innovate.

New ways to collaborate.

New ways to thrive.

New ways to share human knowledge.

To work together.

Solve problems together and bring the world a little closer.