COOL ENTREPRENEURS
Passion, Resilience, Lunacy and Sense of Personal Destiny.
Passion
There is a strong connection between passion and belief. Some people begin with a strong belief in something which leads to setting goals that shape that belief. While pursuing these goals, a passion is discovered. The belief engaged the passion.
Others are passionate about something and executing life with passion will generate and encourage belief. Passion impacted the belief.
Depending on where you start, the energy between belief and passion are connected. The energy from one ignites the other which carries the motivation needed to be successful. A belief is the destination and passion is the mode of transportation.
Pursuing passion gives you something to believe in. Execute it in all that you do and start to believe in what you can achieve.
Resilience
Resilience is defined as the ability to recover from adversity. To be a successful entrepreneur requires resilience, a lot of it! Resilience is the virtue that enables people to move through distress, hardships and failures and become better as a result. The path to success is forged with a magnitude of problems and continuous adjustments are needed along the way. Entrepreneurs must maintain their core purpose and integrity in the face of dramatically changing circumstances.
The most obvious adversities come from external factors many of which are beyond our control. Yet, the resilient business owner has the capability to foresee and address these circumstances.
The other form of adversity, the one we have control over, is internal. It is that inner voice that plants self-doubt. Being emotionally resilient is the hardest part of being an entrepreneur. It is something that no one speaks about. In the midst of stress and overwhelming difficulties, thoughts can swirl with dizzying speed and the fears loom. One needs to recognize these fears, yet still be willing and able to push forward.
Lunacy
Being an entrepreneur is hard work! Entrepreneurs choose a life of hardship. They choose a life that will be marked by joy, achievement, laughter and satisfaction, but also is marked by confusion, chaos, change and disappointment. This is true of everyone’s lives, but the entrepreneur chooses this life of lunacy.
Some may ask, why? Entrepreneurs ask, why not? They would have it no other way.
Sense of Personal Destiny
To build something from nothing is difficult. To build something meaningful, strong and lasting from nothing is rewarding. To build a team, take on a worthy challenge and together make other people’s lives better is one of the most rewarding things you can ever do. You realize that entrepreneurship is not about making money. It is about making your life and others better. It is about creating change.
Seeking your personal destiny is a process of discovery that continues throughout your life, informed by your questions, your conflicts and your deepest dreams.
Possessing a deep sense of personal calling is important to overall success. It affects how focused you will be in achieving what God has called you to accomplish. People with this sense of destiny are stronger individuals. They are not quitters and have a vigilant character quality of perseverance that drives them to greatness.
Gary Hall – Author and Spiritual Life Coach
Gary S. Hall, CPC wrote his first book, A Wake Up Call (Tate Publishing), following a long struggle with Epstein – Barr Virus. During this time, he came to the realization that the path to a healthy, happy life is found through the healing Power of the Spirit. This awareness led Gary to become a leading advocate for personal and spiritual growth.
As Director of Operations for Stones River Electric, Gary has the opportunity to work with people from all walks of life. This specialization in professional discipline has resulted in a lifelong commitment to counsel individuals that are searching for their life purpose. During his thirty year career, he has aided thousands of colleagues through coaching and mentoring.
Gary Hall has recently completed Be Still and Know That I Am God which addresses the issues that so many people question about their life and relationship with God and Love On Your Kids Friday, Text Messages From Dad, which is a collection of text messages he sent to his children over the years. He is currently writing his fourth book, Spiritual Truths for Every Day. His books and motivational keynotes deliver a high energy message designed to create awareness of our dominion, maintain higher levels of consciousness and manifest desired outcomes.
Rob Wilson – Serial Entrepreneur
Rob Wilson, LC, CLMC, LEED AP is a true entrepreneur in every sense of the word. He began his first business venture at the age of thirteen and has never slowed down building enterprises. Known as the best and brightest in his industry, Rob has been involved in founding and developing over ten businesses.
As President of Stones River Electric, Accendo Lighting and Cumberland Distributors, he devotes his entrepreneurial spirit and most of his time building these national organizations. His leadership style is not fundamentally about business, risk or even making money. Rob has a different way of looking at the world. The entrepreneur in him sees opportunities everywhere, while many people see challenges. He is more concerned with discriminating between new opportunities than dwelling on the obstacles.
This resilient personality and his unwavering positive attitude have enabled him to build a dedicated staff of emboldened employees. He is about change, creation and much more than customary business. With success comes responsibility. The responsibility for Rob Wilson is to invest in building new businesses, create jobs, employ more people and make a difference in their lives.
Anna Edwards Waldron – Tech Entrepreneur
Anna has been a print, multimedia and web designer for over 20 years. Her award winning designs have won acclaim in traditional and web-based marketing communities. Anna specializes in electronic interface design and information architecture, disciplines that are critical to effective web design and other electronic formats.
Following the example of many others in the family, she felt that being an entrepreneur was in her blood. She started Darkstar Digital in 1997. Darkstar is a digital development company that specializes in digital solutions such as web design, app development, branding and marketing and is one of the oldest web development companies in Nashville.
In 2016, Anna started Peko Data, a custom software and data company. Peko Data creates cloud-based, data-driven business management software with a robust data analytics platform.
Ron Edwards – Photographer
Photography begins not in the camera but in the mind and the eye. Ron Edwards Photography preserves nature’s artistry though observing, appreciating, seeing things clearly and differently and then sharing this vision with others. It takes the technical operation of the camera combined with artistic composition.
Ron Edwards learned the technical aspects in 1968 while serving in Vietnam. He found that photography gave him something else to think about other than war and saved a little sanity. The artistic side of photography would come many years later. Not necessarily born with photographic skills or artistic ability, Ron wanted to be a good photographer. With his entrepreneurial character, he knew it would take hard work and much practice to become a professional. He took thousands upon thousands of photos. The result of these efforts spent in the field exploring, believing and learning can be seen in each image that he produces.
Through intimate landscapes and close-up details, Ron has brought his vision and photographic craft for all of us to enjoy. Visit his incredible work though his Radiant Gallery website.
Dylan Hall – Vetrepreneur
Dylan Hall is a member of a new class of entrepreneurs called ‘Vetrepreneurs’. A service disabled veteran, Dylan brings his leadership and managerial experience together with his passion for achievement as the President and Managing Partner of Converge Construction.
Always Faithful! This is the United States Marine Corps motto and a commitment Dylan Hall was willing to make. Since he was twelve years old, he wanted to join the Marines and be a part of the storied tradition of this revered organization. Growing up in a construction family, this decision was surprising to most. He chose honor, code and country over college. Marine boot camp is the most challenging, both physically and mentally, training program of the military services. Along with the physical requirements, Dylan was required to learn and memorize a startling amount of information. After suffering a severe ankle injury early on during boot camp, he decided to push through the injury and continue with his platoon training. He completed The Crucible and graduated with his platoon, becoming a Marine.
The injury would not heal and continued to be a health issue as Dylan continued his Military Occupational Specialty Training. When it was determined that he had long term, permanent damage, he was honorably discharged from the Marine Corps. He returned to Tennessee and reconsidered his options for the future and his career. After obtaining a management position with a manufacturer of construction products, he knew the Marine Corps experience was a launching pad that could take him anywhere he desired. With his working knowledge of the military, construction experience and the ability to manage people and processes, he was determined to use these skills to start his own business. His success story will be further written as this emerging company continues to flourish.
Doug Woodward – Tactical Entrepreneur
Doug Woodward has an enthusiasm for sustainability and energy efficient building operations. Moreover, he is passionate about entrepreneurship. Unlike many business owners which sometimes vacillate about starting a new company, Doug never once hesitated. He had a clear vision of his goals and objectives when he founded Woodstone Energy in 2008. He wanted to create a business to provide energy services to large scale industrial manufacturers looking to optimize their utility usage.
Few people have true vision. Entrepreneurs need to be able to see into the future and envision something that others cannot yet see. They need to be able to understand the opportunity and create it. Doug understood that the industrial sector had a need for an energy services partner. This demand for a business that could design, engineer and deliver turnkey solutions was not being met in the marketplace.
In addition to his vision, he had the commitment necessary for success. You can have all the traits, all the skills, all the vision and creativity, but if you are not committed you will not succeed with a start-up business. Doug developed a business plan, acquired the staff and other required resources and was fully responsible for the company’s success or failure. Doug Woodward knows that Business is Business. His management style mirrors this philosophy and under his leadership, Woodstone Energy has been a great success.