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Entrepreneurship… No One Promised Us a Rose Garden
Within Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, entrepreneurship would fall somewhere in the areas of esteem and self-actualization needs.
I’m not sure when I first became aware of the concept of entrepreneurship. It had to be while I was in college, or perhaps even later than that. I knew that some people had jobs and others owned companies, but I didn’t distinguish the levels and hierarchy any further than that. Yet when I came online in 2006, there it was. Everywhere I looked, people were discussing online entrepreneurship. Some self-described as being “serial” entrepreneurs.
Both specifically and generally, entrepreneurship was something just out of my grasp that I so wanted to become a part of for myself. I kept reaching further and soon I was describing what I did as entrepreneurship when I talked to friends, family, and those I knew from the non-profits and other organizations in my city.
While I was growing up, my mother would regularly remind me that “no one promised us a rose garden.” I soon learned this was the title of a song written in 1967 by American singer-songwriter Joe South. It was first recorded by Billy Joe Royal on his 1967 studio album.
In 1970, country vocalist Lynn Anderson recorded “Rose Garden” after hearing South’s original version. However, Anderson’s producer…