American Perspectives: Emulating Chinggis/Genghis Khan Part II

"In American terms, the accomplishment of Genghis Khan might be understood if the United States, instead of being created by a group of educated merchants and wealthy planters, had been founded by one of its illiterate slaves, who, by the sheer force of personality, charisma, and determination, liberated America from foreign rule, united the people, created an alphabet, wrote the constitution, established universal religious freedom, invented a new system of warfare, marched an army from Canada to Brazil, and opened roads of commerce in a free trade zone that stretched across the continents. On every level, and from any perspective, the scale and scope of Genghis Khan's accomplishments challenge the limits of imagination and tax the resources of scholarly explanation." -Jack Weatherford "Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World."

An issue that I deal with is so many people assuming that my business, 사극 Paradise won't make it, that I'm selling stuff nobody wants.  I should just cave in and sell BTS photocards.  (As it is, I'm trying to move away from the Scarlet Heart and 화랑 Photocards that I am selling because I want to encourage my fellow Korean wave fans to go further, and not just limit their fanfare to the superficial aspects).   For many, these kinds of implications and comments would get in their head, eventually kill their self confidence, causing them to quit.  Which is the point!  Entrepreneurship, whether you like it or not, is a highly cutthroat and competitive game.  The victim mentality, which is popular in the American entertainment industry, and which has tightly interwoven itself into our society, will kill your business in seconds flat.  While I choose to respect and support my fellow entrepreneurs, I am aware of the people out there who may not wish me well, so I always make sure to exercise a smidge of caution, and to be aware of where the boundaries lie.

I referenced this quote once, and I'll reference it again: "A black belt is a white belt who never quit."  I have come to realize that much of being an entrepreneur involves the courage to remain standing after many crushing and humiliating failures that occur back to back.  It involves the courage to master things that so many people around you are so sure you aren't capable of doing.  In order to succeed, you have to be willing to travel way beyond your comfort zone, which is something Genghis Khan most certainly did on a very literal level, and won.

I am teaching myself to be like Genghis Khan, and to venture far from the safety of my comfort zone, far from the role that the people around me so desperately want me to fill, and I often wonder if I've ventured far enough, or if I need to do more.  Everyday, I work hard to improve 사극 Paradise, and yes, I hope to see the results really soon.  I would like my business to one day finally have enough impact to fully support my family.