One of the building blocks of good entrepreneurship is....

Curiosity!

Read the story below, to see what I mean....

Julie Jordan Scott mentioned curiosity below....

Did you know that CURIOSITY is considered by many to be an essential entrepreneurial trait?

There's a book out, "Low Risk, High Reward" by Bob Reiss.... Bob Reiss created the TV Guide Trivia game. His company was chosen by Inc. magazine as one of the fastest growing companies of 1992, 1993, and 1994.

While reading through this book, it struck me like a bolt of lightning.... He listed CURIOSITY as a paramount entrepreneurial trait....

Why?

Because Curiosity is the beginning of CREATIVITY....

And it is the beginning of a lifetime of learning....

However, I know that our schools have sometimes strangled the curiosity out of us.... They don't encourage curiosity, but stifle it and replace it with rote learning. What a terrible mistake....

But it's never too late to rekindle your curiosity..... Every single child is curious and filled with wonder. Re-igniting that curiosity in yourself is a step you must not delay....

Yes, there are other important traits too.... But curiosity is one of the paramount foundations for building creativity and success! :)

Now, here's a story of someone who used curiosity to its full advantage....

One of the stories I've discovered lately has been the incredible story of Cornelius Vanderbilt....

This man started in poverty, and through hard, toiling work, he became the richest man in the USA in his time....

He was born to a poor farming family. But young Cornelius didn't want to plow the fields the rest of his life, he dreamed of going to sea.... So he worked hard in the fields, and then he was able to get his own boat.

As a teenager he ferried passengers from New Jersey to Manhattan island and back. However, this was the beginning of the age of steamships, and he looked upon them with wonder....

So young Cornelius gave up his own business for a while. He went to work for a steamship company, learning all the ins and outs and ups and downs of working and running a steamship....

After several years, he was finally able to buy his own steamship, so he started his own little steamship company.

He worked hard and competed hard. Eventually, he had one of the biggest fleets of steamships traveling along the American waterways....

But he was still not satisfied! Cornelius Vanderbilt also went on to become one of the pioneers of American railroads. On this transport empire he became the richest man in the USA in his day....

He owed his success to a combination of hard work, a competitive spirit, and a large dose of curiosity....

The MORAL of this story is....

Let your curiosity run free! It's good for you....

And it makes life more fun too. :)

- Dien Rice