Saturday, April 4, 2015

Rebels Makes Really Good Entrepreneurs

Most of the highly successful entrepreneurs are rebels. I’m not talking about “gun-wielding gung-ho” but I’m talking about the ones who don’t care about social norms and standards. Many successful entrepreneurs deviate from what is commonly accepted behavior in the society. In fact most these successful entrepreneurs describe themselves as not fitting in with the crowd.

A new study conducted by professors at the University of California and the London School of Economics indicate that successful entrepreneurs share many of the same characteristics. Some of these are unsurprising, such as high IQs, a stable upbringing and having parents with higher-than-average income; however, they also found that many successful entrepreneurs were also engaged in delinquent behavior in their formative years. The professors concluded that this is not an uncommon trait in successful people, as it shows a willingness to bend the rules and act aggressively to pursue goals. (Source: http://www.thestreet.com/)

For examples New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who built a business data and news empire, Microsoft founder Bill Gates, billionaires Ted Turner and Li Ka-shing, Richard Branson and McDonald’s founder Ray Kroc are just some examples of widely successful entrepreneurs who all dropped out of high school or college and have shown delinquent behavior in their formative years. According to study they possess traits, even as teenagers, that separated them from the pack.

That rule-breaking mentality may actually be what makes entrepreneurs so successful, Prof. Ross Levine says. He added, "our data revealed that many successful entrepreneurs exhibited aggressive behavior and got in trouble as teenagers. This is the person who wasn't afraid to break the rules, take things by force or even be involved in minor drugs." While it’s not always easy to be the outsider, it’s exactly this quality— seeing things through a different lens from the rest of the world—that can help move society forward and drive innovation.


Channeling that “never say die” rebellious nature seems to have triggered something deep inside the minds and hearts of successful business owners. Troublemakers, it turns out, make really good entrepreneurs.

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