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Entrepreneurs – Never Give Up! In today's time, there is no dearth of opportunities! In fact, anytime is a good time to embrace each opportunity that takes you closer to your dream

By Abhi Gholap

Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

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Many successful entrepreneurs would resonate to this feeling that whatever the circumstances may be, you must move on and never give up! It is very easy to succumb to failures, but it is very tough to sustain those turbulent times and keep moving. An entrepreneur's life is never a joyride; there are hurdles all the way. Right from the seeds of idea sown until he/she reaches the zenith of success, an entrepreneur strides through the seven levels of hell! But the real entrepreneur is a go-getter, who is unscathed come rain, hail or shine. He/she must get up and get going with his/her ideas, which he/she firmly believes in and wills to see them develop.

What if The Idea Never Works?

Your idea of doing business or creating something extraordinary is like a dream that you completely own. You are the only one who believes in what you are dreaming to achieve. However, your dreams may get shattered anytime and force you to leave your vision lie forever under the cushion. There are always those cynical thoughts hovering around your mind –Is the idea good enough for serious consideration? And even if the idea is great and you know that it can work, still your mind will question you - will it be successful and how far can I reach? This is the time when most of the people lose everything they have dreamt to a simple assumption of let's not do it!

Remember, entrepreneurs are great thinkers, but they never ponder over their thoughts, their ideas for long. They are risk-takers who challenge their mind and go ahead with their dreams, to see their ideas flourish. You can never predict their appearances, the amount of aggression with which they will fall or their quick disappearances. Ideas can fall in small drops or can take a shape of a storm, destroying everything coming in their way. But as they say, rains are a blessing to the earthlings, the same goes with ideas as well They are a blessing to those who get them. So, anyone who has an idea, who knows what is to be done with his/her idea, is a potential entrepreneur.

Success is Where Preparation and Opportunity Meet

Entrepreneurial journey is tough for sure, but the good news is that there are always fresh opportunities to feel good and to be happy. In today's time, there is no dearth of opportunities! In fact, anytime is a good time to embrace each opportunity that takes you closer to your dream.

But what to do when opportunities knock on your door often? It's simple - you just need to catch hold of the first opportunity that comes your way. An entrepreneur never waits for a good opportunity to come; he turns every chance he gets into an opportunity. Imagine, life is like the Grand Central Station where happy times arrive around the clock. Chances are, the opportunity to feel good and to be happy has already arrived. Sometimes it's right in front of you or two platforms away from you. For whatever reason, you are unable to shift your focus to notice and appreciate it. When you are truly passionate and enthusiastic about your vision, you activate this powerful energy to assist in co-creating your dreams. When times are tough, it's passion and enthusiasm that compel you to hold on to your vision and pushes you to go that extra mile. It's that passion and enthusiasm that propels you into a zone where you feel confident, courageous and victorious. So, just hold on to your thoughts and start preparing towards reaching your destination.

The Entrepreneur's Spirit Must Live

Just like the phases in human life, there are phases in an entrepreneur's life too. Each phase is filled with obstacles, pushing the entrepreneur's spirit to lie low or die completely. But there's light at the end of every tunnel, a beacon that slowly and steadily shifts gear toward success.

A Few Observations

  • Most often, we have seen dreams shattering at genesis itself. This could be due to financial constraints or personal reasons, but many first-time thinkers back off before even commencing their journey!

  • At the idea incubation phase, when this is the opportune time to nurture the dream, the idea; but several potential entrepreneurs quit their journey midway largely due to lack of motivation, direction, courage and enthusiasm.

  • Then there are those classic examples of a successful entrepreneur running a great business, has seen his idea grow and flourish, but somehow, he is always hounded by nightmares of his precious resources, his team leaving him, or an investor backing out at the last minute. This is where circumstances force the entrepreneurs to take back-seat, which is seriously demotivating.

  • Here the entrepreneur spirit comes alive. As a pre-requisite, an entrepreneur must keep his emotions away, keep his mind busy all the time. Studies have shown that those who make conscious choices (Entrepreneurship is a choice) to stay engaged throughout the day are more creative, productive and resilient to challenging situations. They are also more likely to easily find solutions to complex problems when the mind is calm and composed.

The Surroundings You Live in Shapes Your Present and Future

Entrepreneurship is a lonely journey. While you completely own your idea, you need resources to build your ideas into a flourishing business. It becomes imperative to build relations, goodwill with your internal as well as external stakeholders. Networking plays a very important part in setting up your business and keeping relations with the industry people comes handy when in need.

Never forget to give time to your family and friends as they are the ones who trust your instincts, support you unconditionally and guide you in your lowest point.

"The mantra is to keep putting one's foot in front of the other and keep going!"

Abhi Gholap

Founder & CEO, OptraSCAN

Abhi is an alumnus of IIT Mumbai and Stanford University Graduate school of Business. With 17 international patents and several research publications, including NATURE, Abhi strongly believes in innovating and commercializing for the industry needs. Abhi is chair of TiECon health, member of Sand Hill Angels and board member of EPPIC Global.

Earlier Abhi worked for Siemens Medical before his first entrepreneurial venture that was acquired later for $100mn. Optra Ventures is an early stage venture investment in Medical Devices and Digital Healthcare with Optra Systems, Optra SCAN and Optra Health as 3 group companies.

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