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JIMINY SELF-HELP HANDBOOK 6

 Self-Motivation: one of the most important traits of entrepreneurial lifestyle is self-motivation
and dedication to the plan, in other worlds the ability to “push themselves forward”.
 Accountability: The entrepreneurial mindset comes from taking responsibility for our actions
and outcomes. Each one of us needs to internalize and accept that “everything that happens
at home or at work, to my business or to my life, whether it is a success or a failure, it is MY
responsibility”. Circumstances may not be our fault, but in the end, we make our choices about
how to handle them and which people to trust to help us. Accountability means taking
complete control, stop blaming others and take action to fix the problem.
 Risk appetite: This entrepreneurial characteristic is probably one of the “scariest” but also one
of the most rewarding. People who succeed are not afraid of taking risks and in fact they feel
comfortable in situations where most people would feel uncomfortable. However, not all the
risk takers have a successful entrepreneurial mindset – knowing how to take calculated risks
is the key. It is understanding which risks to take and how to evaluate them that matters the
most. At this point it is crucial to define risk, since the term is used in many ways and is given
different definitions depending on the field and context. Following the PRINCE2® methodology
for managing various projects, risk is as “an uncertain event or set of events that, should it
occur, will have an effect on the achievement of objectives. A risk is measured by a
combination of the probability of a perceived threat or opportunity occurring, and the
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magnitude of its impact on objectives” .
 Flexibility: This trait allows entrepreneurs to know when and how to customize their products
or services to satisfy their clients and how to adapt their business to new market demands (or
even create new demands). With the rapid advancement of technology, evolving and adapting
are the only options. Sometimes this is day to day adjustments, and sometimes it is complete
pivots. But even for those who are not involved in business, flexibility is crucial. It is the
intelligence to welcome new ideas and suggestions from other people and to know how to
stick to an overall plan but be flexible enough to adapt this plan to achieve better results.
Flexibility is an essential part of problem-solving in our daily life.
Effective ways that can help us upgrade our mindset, include the following: changing our language and
the way we talk to our self about our self and about our goals; surrounding our self with people who
match the desired mindset and creating habits to support the change we are seeking for; determining
the entrepreneurial mindset we need, learn, apply and “act as if”, jumping out of our comfort zone but
with calculated risks.

2.2. Entrepreneurial Decision-Making
The way of decision-making varies according to the situation and time and differs from person to
person, from area to area and from project to project. However, it is important for people who wish
to develop a successful entrepreneurial mindset to realise the process for their own decision making
and at the same time be aware of how other people (friends, family, team or even competitors) make
their own decisions.

Understanding the type of decision that we are facing and responding appropriately can help us to
increase our effectiveness, therefore in this section we will try to describe the entrepreneurial
decision-making process and discuss different types of decision-makers.

6 PRINCE2® Glossary of terms, available online
https://www.axelos.com/Corporate/media/Files/Glossaries/PRINCE2-2009-Glossary-of-terms_GB-v1-1.pdf