Entrepreneurship goes beyond a well-elaborated business plan with positive returns on investment. It is about a well-articulated vision - and a passion that emanates from this vision. It is also about attitude and personality, and the whole phrenology of being an entrepreneur. Education institutions may teach you the theoretical part of entrepreneurship, but it is practical experience that will enable you to embrace your quest, says consultant and life coach Hanane Anoua from Morocco, founder of Learn and Dare. This is where one's inner resources come in, she says. These can turn whatever we deem impossible into something that is possible. These resources are limitless!

Entrepreneurship has never been an alternative when things go wrong in your career or a simple shift in your professional path. Entrepreneurship is about a sense of purpose. You have to have an emotional investment of what you are doing if you don’t want to give up. Success is not guaranteed but failure is pretty much guaranteed if you don’t have this passion.   

More, being an entrepreneur is not only about a business. The idea may represent only 1% of the journey. It is also about how you define yourself. It is about trust, relationships, and responsibility as you will have to go beyond biases in order to understand the needs of your customers. You will need a great idea, for sure, a great passion to carry on, but you will have also to move to executions and put all pieces altogether. Being an entrepreneur is a great journey to go through but this does not mean that it’s all apple pie and golf course. 

Five challenges to consider along with your journey as an entrepreneur: confidence, purpose, focus, hunger and discipline. 

Confidence

You gain confidence through action. You become more-self-confident when you step out from your comfort zone; you stay positive when everything is negative; you remain strong when things go wrong. Confidence is an inner resource to search for it as it is a great emotion to attain from inside.  

Purpose

It should answer the WHY as it will give a purpose behind your actions. What drives you, motivates and excites you about going through it. When the answer is very clear in your mind, it will be difficult to give up as you will always have the passion to find the means and build the capacities to make things happen. 

Focus

Focus is fundamental to avoid dispersed energy and a waste of time. Self-doubt will easily creep in, but the focus is excellent in overcoming it. Focus will also enable you to master easily what you are doing to become expert. Focus and expertise will provide you with more confidence, create trust, and build long-lasting relationships.  

Hunger

You cannot be an entrepreneur if you don’t develop the curiosity and the hunger to be in the learning and self-improvement process. Hunger will enable you also to keep an eye on the market, to search continuously for customer needs and how to add value to them. Hunger makes you different. It will set you out from the crowd. 

Discipline

Discipline is the fuel you develop from inside that will keep you moving forward to achieve your goals. To develop discipline, you have to enhance your physical endurance. Focus without discipline will be a waste of time. You may have a brilliant idea, a great passion, all the resources required but without discipline, you will be missing great opportunities. 

Being an entrepreneur is being on a JOURNEY with a great VISION but without necessarily a clear MAP. You may need sustainable tangible resources, but your inner resources are even greater. The first ones will get you started, but the second ones will make you persevere to achieve your goals.