This happened soon after I went off on my own. Cruising along at 30,000 feet on my way to consulting job, I was catching up on my reading.

In addition to technical materials, I’ve always tried balance my reading with business materials. Even though I’m an engineer, I’m also a business person. You know, profit & loss, sales & marketing, and all that stuff.

The business article I was reading was about the itch that drives entrepreneurs to start and run small businesses. And then the big quote hit me, as the author bluntly stated, “There are only two known cures for entrepreneur’s itch — success, or death.” It seems that once you catch the bug, you can’t get rid of it.

In a way, I felt relieved. After all, my venture into my own business hadn’t killed me. But I could really appreciate the drive that keeps one going. I had tried once before and failed, but regrouped, and this time it looked successful. Later on, it took my business partner and me four iterations to get the training side of our business right.

So be warned — once smitten, there is no cure. The itch will succumb only to success — or death.

Wishing you success, and a long and happy life!

© 2011 – 2015, https:. All rights reserved.