Being an entrepreneur requires a lot of different traits, you have to be courageous, creative, good with people, plus more. But, one often overlooked, but very important trait is…curiosity.
When you look up the formal definition for the word curious, this is what it says, “eager to know or learn something.”
That right there makes curiosity the most desired trait in the world. By being curious it allows you to question things that you don’t currently understand, but yet you have an interest in. Curiosity is a drive to learn what you don’t yet know. It’s a motivator!
I consider myself a very curious person. I have a drive to learn everything I can about a topic, a method or even a person. It’s the foundation on which I built FITzee Foods, and the foundation on which I’m building The Pitch Queen empire.
One of the ways that curiosity has helped me the most is by keeping me on my toes, never ever allowing myself to wait for my next opportunity to come. My head is always up, and looking ahead, rather than stuffed down in my computer all the time.
I know I’ve talked about it before, but I tried so many different things to keep FITzee Foods afloat when I still had the company open. Those opportunities didn’t just come my way, though. My eyes and ears were always open, listening for any sort of opportunity that I could go after.
I constantly scanned social media, Twitter mainly, which is how I found out that they were doing casting for Season 4 of Shark Tank.
Once I knew they were casting, I knew I had to dig and get some behind the scenes information about the show and how I could apply. So, I dug on Twitter, but I didn’t stop there… I let my curiosity carry me over to LinkedIn, where I found the producers’ names and email addresses.
I was relentless, I wanted to know all I could before I even applied to be on the show. I knew that the more informed I was, the more prepared I could be, the more confident I would feel standing in front of the five Sharks.
Sadly, we all know my segment never made it to air, but that’s not the point. I DID make it in front of the Sharks. I DID get to pitch FITzee Foods’ products to them. And, I DID feel confident in what I knew. And as a bonus they did love our food and protein bars!
Curiosity led me to that.
My curiosity in people is also what has led me to interview some of the greatest entrepreneurs out there. I love to learn about others. Trust me when I say that curiosity most definitely did NOT kill the cat!
As Einstein once said, “I have no special talent. I am only passionately curious.”
Sure we might argue about the idea that Einstein had no “special talent,” but if it wasn’t for his unending curiosity, Einstein never would have uncovered all of the information that he did.
I guess my point is pretty simple, don’t ever stop questioning things. Allow curiosity to be the driver for everything that you do!
What Made Shark Tank’s Kevin Harrington Successful?
Shark Tank’s Kevin Harrington, a guest on Success Unfiltered shared that one of the most frequently asked questions that he receives is, “What are the things that you’ve done that have made you successful?”
Kevin shared with me that he doesn’t have a specific “thing” that he has done, but that at a very early age, his father became a mentor to him. Kevin’s father always pushed him to be curious. To explore and read, and to attend trade shows to learn more about all sorts of topics.
That curiosity is a driver for Kevin, he doesn’t sit around waiting for deals to come to him. He’s out there, speaking, doing whatever he can and attending conferences so that he can learn more, meet new people, find new products and launch new ideas.
This all happens because Kevin has always been curious and allows that to lead him.
I’m sure some of you are probably thinking, well how in the world does he avoid getting burnt out, or maybe you’re even thinking how do YOU avoid burning out.
Mix things up! Have lots of different and exciting things going on in your life that keep you energized and alert. Don’t be afraid to try new things, even if they feel scary. If you’re feeling the pull of curiosity let it lead you to try that new something.
If you’re an entrepreneur and you’re constantly plugging away at the same thing, day in and day out, it’s not surprising that you’d get burnt out. You need to mix things up!
For Kevin, this means that he has multiple businesses, he has his product-based businesses, he does speaking engagements, and he’s an advisor on a board of directors.
He has so much going on, but it’s always something different, so he feels energized to move on to each new thing.
Using People Skills to Bolster Your Business
One other thing that I want to mention is that being curious about people, in all areas of life can help to build your business.
You never ever know who you’re going to be standing in line with at Starbucks. Put your phone away and strike up a conversation with the person in front or behind you. See where it ends up!
Maybe you’ll even meet your next client.
If you’re a coach, and you start chatting with the person behind you, you might find out that they just came from a coaching session that was less than amazing.
This gives you the opportunity to get curious. You can ask them WHY they aren’t happy with their current coach. You can ask leading questions, do a little digging and who knows, they may just start asking about you and what you do. Which could potentially lead them to consider working with you.
The rest, as they say, is history!
In Conclusion
I believe that if we come from a place of massive curiosity, we’ll be able to avoid getting burnt out. We’ll keep searching and trying to learn new things.
And, we are more likely to come across new people and ideas that could be the next big thing in our business.
I encourage each and every one of you to take your head out of your computer, and start coming from a place of curiosity.
How are you going to try being more curious, today?
