I know you are familiar with this motto. The first person who told me that sentence was my Dad when I was in a competition of my university to win a one year scholarship to Japan. It was with me in almost things I have done so far. However, I should admit that Justice Williams (Tru Life Magazine – BCU Guest Speakers) was far more energy and desirous then I was in taking this motto. I can see from her all characters that an entrepreneur needs: Creative, Entrepreneurship and Innovative and not least a strong desire to do things she wants to do. From my perspective, there are two types of entrepreneurs. The first type concentrates into business that makes benefits. Entrepreneurs of this type are very business-oriented, no benefit – no business. The second type tends to do business they like. Entrepreneurs of this type target on both benefits and self-actualization. I think almost of us prefer the second type, do the business we like to do. There are always advantages and disadvantages in every type of business but in the knowledge-based economy of the twenty-first century, Justice Williams again convinced me that NETWORK is one key element for the success of any business. That, I have learnt from this MA Media and Creative Enterprise course.

TAKE WHAT YOU CAN GET?

The project that I am doing now is to build an international network to bring genuine and practical international contents for our Vietnamese magazine. It has been two months since when I started to search for networks, I have joined quite few networking events, online and offline social networks and I have sent many emails and messages to the people I knew from those networks. Sadly very few of them replied my emails but luckily that helped me to recognize that I was in wrong direction. I have tried to answer the question “Who are my potential business partners?” and forgot to answer the question “Why they should join my network?”. I almost thought of doing other project before running across Seth Godin’s blog “Take What You Can Get?”. He wrote “Almost always, the best gig I could get is shorthand for the easiest gig I could get. Surviving is succeeding, no doubt about it. Doing the work is better than not doing the work. Waiting for perfect is never as smart as making progress. But, and it’s a huge but, you define yourself by the work you do, and perhaps you need to redefine what you’re willing to take and where you’re looking for it”.
SO, Take What You Can Get? or Get What You Can Take? this project taught me that the later one is hard but that is the path an entrepreneur should take. Defining what we want to Take and do what we can do to Get it are what we need to do, I think. I have redefined what I want to take from this course when I came here. Again, “If You Don’t Try, You Don’t Get”, that is it. If you just take the easiest gigs you can get, you might be survive but that’s all you are about. We have to do more than just wait and take whatever comes around, that is what this course taught me so far. Good luck to all my fellows with “What You Want To Take” now and in the future.
Take What You Can Get?

One Response to “IF YOU DON’T TRY, YOU DON’T GET!”

1. Annette says:

   Monday, December 7, 2009 at 10:56am

   you seem to be learning some very useful lessons here. I like the fact that you have realised that in developing a network, you need to think about why people should join your network. What is in it for them? You cant expect them to see the benefits unless you make that clear from the start.