I’ve had the opportunity to work with entrepreneurs of all types throughout my career. Some are pure visionaries, while others are executors. Only a select few are both. But no matter what type of entrepreneur they may be, they all seem to share at least three qualities, and those are the ones I appreciate most.

Every successful entrepreneur is:

1. COURAGEOUS

Entrepreneurs are courageous. It takes a lot of guts to go out on a limb, quit your job, and pursue a new endeavor. Sometimes It’s just a kernel of an idea, but the fact that entrepreneurs lay it all on the line and go after their dreams showcases a level of courage that few possess.

2. PERSISTENT

Entrepreneurs must be persistent. Once you get out there and you have quit your job to pursue your dream full time, and after the adrenaline wears off, you begin to realize that the entrepreneurial journey is more like a roller coaster ride than it is hockey stick growth or a linear trajectory.

It’s when you start to realize how hard it is to build a business that you have to invoke this character quality. Entrepreneurs remember why they pursued this idea in the first place. Although others might not be able to see the end result of this vision they have created, they must remain persistent in pursuing and pushing after their dreams, knowing it will be a constant and sometimes agonizing journey before they are able to realize the entirety of the vision they have created.

3. A LITTLE BIT OF CRAZY

Thirdly, and equally as important, is that every entrepreneur has to have “a little bit of crazy” in them.

What sane, rational, intelligent person would quit their job to pursue building a business where we already know that eight out of 10 most likely will fail? It is, however, that little bit of crazy that helps give us the courage and persistence to build our companies. It’s that little bit of crazy that separates the normal people from the remarkable entrepreneurs and innovators that help industries grow, that help change behaviors, that create new markets and access to the future as we know.

If you know an entrepreneur, and we all do, you can probably validate that they have, in some capacity, the above character qualities.  And if you do know entrepreneurs, I would urge you to encourage and help empower the above qualities within them.

Recognize these qualities are a necessary part of our world and daily lives. Without them, we would not have some of the amazing advances in technology, health care, and energy. We need more people like this, and we need to make sure we are fostering this type of community in which we live.

And who knows? Maybe one day you will find that “little bit of crazy” creeping up in your own mind. There’s no telling what you can accomplish with these qualities in your own life.

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