Discovering Your Inner Samurai Blog

Five Tips Women Entrepreneurs Can Learn from J. K. Rowling

J. K. Rowling is the English writer who has authored all seven beloved and widely read Harry Potter novels. For women entrepreneurs, her rise to fame and fortune is inspiring.

How she got from there to where she is today is a story filled with invaluable tips for women entrepreneurs.

Tip # 1: Don’t Rush to Roll Out Your Product.

Destiny is a name often given in retrospect to choices that had dramatic consequences. - J. K. Rowling

Although J. K. Rowling had been a writer all her life, she was slow to publish. She said, “I had written two novels before I had the idea for Harry, though I'd never tried to get them published (and a good job too, I don't think they were very good).”

All too often, as women business owners, we rush to get a product out before its time, before it’s been fully considered or tested. Rowling sets a great example of getting a product just right before presenting it to the world.

Tip # 2: When a Great Idea Grabs You, Grab Back.

You sort of start thinking anything's possible if you've got enough nerve. - J. K. Rowling

Great ideas are unmistakably powerful in their announcement and come when least expected. Rowling says:

Where the idea for Harry Potter actually came from, I really couldn't tell you. I was traveling on a train between Manchester and London and it just popped into my head. I spent four hours thinking about what Hogwarts would be like. By the time I got off at King's Cross, many of the characters in the books had already been invented.

As women business owners, we know when a great idea is upon us. The problem is, we often question it, second-guess it, and rationalize it away. Not Rowling. She recognized the mark of a powerful idea, seized upon it and went with it.

Tip # 3: Persevere, Persevere, and Persevere.

It is our choices . . . that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities. - J. K. Rowling

  Rowling moved to Portugal to teach English as a Second Language in 1991 and married her first husband the following year. They divorced in 1993. The next year, she moved to Scotland. At this point, she was an unemployed single mother living on welfare. In 1995, she completed her manuscript for Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, typing it out on an old manual typewriter. She handed in the book to twelve publishing houses. They all rejected it. 

Rowling never gave up. She did not stop just because life was hard. Despite all the changes and setbacks she was experiencing, she carried on. She persevered. As women business owners, we would do well to keep her example in mind.

Tip # 4: Don’t Let Anyone, Including Yourself, Sidetrack You from Your Goal.

If you're holding out for universal popularity, I'm afraid you will be in this cabin for a very long time.
- J. K. Rowling

Finally, Bloomsbury, a small publisher, agreed to publish the first book. Her editor, though, says that he “advised Rowling to get a day job, since she had little chance of making money in children’s books.”

It’s a good thing she didn’t let this advice discourage her. All seven volumes of the Harry Potter series have broken sales records and have been translated into 67 languages. What a shining role model Rowling is for woman business owners. She didn’t let anyone stand in the way of her goal—not even herself.

Tip # 5: Each of Us Has a Unique Contribution to Make to the World.

I just write what I wanted to write. I write what amuses me. It's totally for myself. - J. K. Rowling

J. K. Rowling never went searching for the kind of success she’s received. “I just wrote the sort of thing I liked reading when I was younger (and still enjoy now!). I didn't expect lots of people to like them, in fact, I never really thought much past getting them published.”

It wasn’t fame or wealth that J. K. Rowling sought. No. She simply wanted to contribute to the world in general, and to children specifically. As women entrepreneurs, this is so important to learn. Focus on the unique something you have to offer to the world. The rest will surely come, in ways you may not even be able to imagine.

Susan L. Reid
Inner Samurai Business Expert

Award-winning author of Discovering Your Inner Samurai: The Entrepreneurial Woman's Journey to Business Success

Business Made Easy - Turn Your Business Dreams Into Reality Toolkit

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Enjoy!

Susan L. Reid
Inner Samurai Business Expert

Award-winning author of Discovering Your Inner Samurai: The Entrepreneurial Woman's Journey to Business Success

 

Women Entrepreneurs Tips for Success

Several years ago, I began keeping a "tips for success" list. Not the usual kind of list from famous people who have been successful. Rather, a list of success tips from ordinary, every day people who have worked hard and become successful in their life and business.

Who are these people? My former clients. 

I thought you might enjoy reading some of the gems from my client's success tips list:

• What ever you do keep it simple!
• Be a product of your service!
• Learn the things that work for you and don’t stop doing them when success starts to come your way!
• You may have to spend a little money to make some!
• In order to be great you need to be good first! In order to be good you may have to be bad first!
  
• Be bold! Great and mighty forces will come to your aid!
• Life begins at the end of you comfort zone!

So what do you think about these tips?

If you were going to add a tip or two of you own, what would you say?

Susan L. Reid
Inner Samurai Business Expert

Award-winning author of Discovering Your Inner Samurai: The Entrepreneurial Woman's Journey to Business Success

 

 Do you know the book Who Moved My Cheese? by Spencer Johnson, MD?

It’s a short, easy to read allegory about change. It reminds us of our need to find our way in the maze and to succeed in changing times.

In it are four imaginary characters: The mice, Sniff and Scurry, and the little people, Hem and Haw.

Together, they represent the simple and the complex parts of ourselves.

Sniff - sniffs out change early.
Scurry - scurries into action.
Hem - denies and resists change, as he fears it will lead to something worse.
Haw - learns to adapt in time when he sees that changing leads to something better.

Finding cheese meant a great deal more to the little people than just having enough of it to eat every day.  Finding cheese was the little people’s way of getting what they thought they needed to be happy.They had their own ideas what cheese meant to them, depending on their taste.

For some, finding cheese was having material things. For others it was enjoying good health, or developing a spiritual sense of well being. For Haw, cheese just meant feeling safe, having a loving family some day, and living in a cozy cottage on Cheddar Lane. To Hem, cheese was becoming a Big Cheese in charge of others and owning a big house on Camembert Hill.

The main activity in Who Moved My Cheese? is looking for and finding cheese. Sniff and Scurry work as a team, as do Hem and Haw. Eventually, they all find a large cheese supply in Cheese Station C and enjoy it for quite some time. Then, one day when they arrive at Cheese Station C, the cheese is gone! Responding quickly to the situation, Sniff and Scurry immediately take off in search of new cheese, while Hem and Haw stay and try to figure out what happened.

Hem wasn't about to go out in search of new cheese. He felt entitled to have the cheese and “wasn’t going to change until they put the cheese back.” Haw, meanwhile, was processing everything that had happened and concluded that he needed to go back out into the maze to search of a new Cheese Station.

Here are the 12 realizations Hem came to while searching through the maze for new cheese. Each of these gems are valuable to keep in mind for the Accidental Pren-her™ in the midst of change.

1. The more important your cheese is to you, the more you want to hold on to it.
2. If you do not change, you can become extinct.
3. What would you do if you weren’t afraid?
4. Smell the cheese often so you know when it is getting old.
5. Movement in a new direction helps you find new cheese.
6. When you move beyond fear, you feel free.
7. Imagining yourself enjoying new cheese even before finding it, leads you to it.
8. The quicker you let go of old cheese, the sooner you will find new cheese.
9. Old beliefs do not lead you to new cheese.
10. When you see that you can find and enjoy new cheese, you change course.
11. Noticing small changes early, helps you adapt to the bigger changes that are to come.
12. Move with the cheese and enjoy it.
    

Which character did you relate to the most? Are you a Hem, who resists change, or a Haw who adapts and changes?

Susan L. Reid, The original Accidental Pren-her™

Author of Discovering Your Inner Samurai: The Entrepreneurial Woman's Journey to Business Success

 

 

The Heroine's Journey - Return

Tuesday, we began exploring the Heroine's Journey as it relates to today's Accidental Pren-her. Today, we conclude with the third stage our woman's journey as she travels from Accidental Pren-her to entrepreneurial women.

There are three stages to every Heroine's Journey. They are:

• Departure
• Initiation
• Return

So far, we've covered the first two stages: departure and initiation.

Today, we'll focus on: RETURN

The last part of the Heroine’s Journey is the return home. Before returning home, however, there is usually some sacrifice required of the heroine—something that she must leave behind. Quite often, it is some aspect of the heroine’s ego that must be sacrificed; other times it is something physical.

Regardless, the sacrifice is always some part of us that needs to be transformed. Some part of us that is holding us back from becoming who we are and from achieving what we most desire.

When I was a teenager, I remember reading Hinds’ Feet on High Places by English author Hannah Hurnard. This beautifully written allegorical book had a great impact on me. It was my first encounter with the feminine version of The Hero’s Journey. It is the story of a young woman named Much Afraid, and her spiritual journey away from her Fearing family and into the High Places of the Shepherd, accompanied by her two companions Sorrow and Suffering.

Together the young heroine and her allies pass through many dangers and fears as they mount to the High Places. One by one, Much Afraid faces and overcomes her doubts, turning her weaknesses into strengths and her fears into faith. At the top, she is required to sacrifice something very dear to her — her heart. And when she does, she is transformed, given a new name, and returned to the valley with truth, new awareness, and a deep knowing. She returns with gladness in her step, a smile on her face, and a new willingness to be of service to humankind.

(Excerpt from Chapter 6 of my book)

This is the kind of transformation that takes place along The Heroine's Journey. What gifts have come your way, once you let go of something? What new awareness did you have as a result? What new opening occurred?

Susan L. Reid
The original Accidental Pren-her™

Author of Discovering Your Inner Samurai: The Entrepreneurial Woman's Journey to Business Success

Susan L. Reid
The original Accidental Pren-her™

Author of Discovering Your Inner Samurai: The Entrepreneurial Woman's Journey to Business Success

The Heroine's Journey - Initiation

Yesterday, we began exploring the Heroine's Journey as it relates to today's Accidental Pren-her. Today, we continue with the second stage our woman's journey as she travels from Accidental Pren-her to entrepreneurial women.

There are three stages to every Heroine's Journey. They are:

• Departure
• Initiation
• Return

Yesterday we talked about Departure.

Today, we'll focus on: INITIATION

After the heroine has accepted the call and sets off down the road, she must cross the threshold between the world she is familiar with and the unknown world. This is the heroine’s road of trials. The time when she is tested. Where she is honed and strengthened by the journey.

Sounds rather daunting, doesn’t it? Well, there is good news. We don’t travel this part of the journey alone. Many allies and friends will walk with us. Some known, some unknown. Some will protect us. Others will guide us. Still others will be older and wiser to provide sound counsel and sage advice. Those we meet will provide us with the tools and insights for the adventure ahead. This is the part of the journey where we go it together. Where synchronistic events, seemingly chance encounters, and the most unexpectedly helpful guides come to assist us and walk with us along our way.

Remember the scene in the movie version of The Fellowship of the Ring when Gandalf tells Frodo that he is no longer safe in the Shire, that the ring Bilbo has left him is the One Ring, the ring being sought after by the Dark Lord Sauron? This is the moment of Frodo’s call to action. He and his beloved Shire are threatened if he stays. He accepts the call to take the One Ring to Rivendell, and at that moment, Sam appears, to walk by his side, to accompany him, no matter what.

Together they set off on their great adventure. Everything is going along just fine until Sam suddenly stops at the edge of a cornfield. Frodo keeps walking ahead and hasn’t noticed for a few seconds that Sam is no longer with him. When he does, he turns back and sees Sam looking down at the ground in front of him.

“What is it, Sam?” Frodo asks.

“This is it. If I take one more step, it will be the farthest from home I’ve ever been.”

This is what the experience of crossing the threshold between what you know and what you don’t know is like. This is the place between worlds. Between what is familiar and what is not. No matter how excited you may be on our journey, that place where you cross over can stop you in your tracks. You don’t know what lies ahead. You are in new, uncharted territory.

This is the place where many small business owners get hung up. Where they are foiled. Where they become fearful of moving on. What do you call this place? I’ve heard it called ‘sitting on the fence.’ Others say this is the place where the ‘rubber meets the road.’ What’s the experience like? One client of mine described it as the feeling of straddling two planets with one foot on Earth and the other on Mars. Another client said she felt like she was straddling the Grand Canyon with one foot on the north side and the other on the south. Both felt what Sam felt — a coming to the end of what is known and understood.

(Excerpt from Chapter 6 of my book)

Who's walking beside you? What friends, allies, and guides are with you on your journey from Accidental Pren-her to entrepreneurial woman? To go it alone would be unbearable. Companionship makes it bearable, even enjoyable.

Susan L. Reid
The original Accidental Pren-her™

Author of Discovering Your Inner Samurai: The Entrepreneurial Woman's Journey to Business Success

The Heroine's Journey - Departure

For the next three days, we'll be exploring the Heroine's Journey as it relates to today's Accidental Pren-her. We'll be using  Joseph Campbell's own research into the Hero's Journey as our model, adapting it specifically to a woman's journey as she travels from Accidental Pren-her to entrepreneurial women.

There are three stages to every Heroine's Journey. They are: 

• Departure
  
• Initiation
• Return

Today, we'll focus on: DEPARTURE

The adventure begins when the heroine receives a call to action. The call to action, according to Campbell, usually comes when “a blunder — apparently the merest chance — reveals an unsuspected world, and the individual is drawn into a relationship with forces that are not rightly understood.” This activating event is often seen as a threat to the peace of the individual or the community. It is often brought on by another person, an outside event, or a spiritual occurrence.

If you are someone who has been downsized from the corporate world, has lost your job, or has quit simply because you’ve had enough of working for someone else, then this is your activating event. If your children have recently left home or you are newly divorced, this is also an activating event. Mine was a spiritual experience; what was yours? Maybe it was the death of a loved one. Perhaps you’ve come into some money, or maybe you’ve had a near-miss accident. Whatever event it was, it became your heralded call for change: A call to action.

Once the call is received, the heroine has a choice — to accept or decline. There is always that choice. No one is ever forced to go on a Heroine’s Journey. This is one of those times when the decision is a singular decision. It is up to you to decide if you are going to heed the call to action or not. If you say yes, your world will change. If you say no, it will still change, though in a different way. Campbell explains, “Refusal of the summons converts the adventure into its negative. Walled in boredom, hard work, or ‘culture,’ the subject loses the power of significant affirmative action and becomes a victim to be saved.”

For those who are contemplating becoming a small business owner, this is the time when you decide if you will or will not venture forth. If you will or will not take your first steps toward entrepreneurship. Will you heed the call or become a victim to be saved? No matter what your decision, the fact remains, something unexpected has happened in your life that is shaping who you are and what you do today. You can’t go back. You can never go back to the time before the call. Will you go on?

Many of us don’t. However, the few who do are changed forever. The Heroine’s Journey shapes us, transforms us, and spits us out whole with a fire in our bellies and a deeper inner knowing than we’ve never had before — an Inner Samurai knowing.

Do you feel called to something yet unknown? Has something unexpected happened in your life? If so, you are at the beginning of the Heroine's journey

Susan L. Reid
The original Accidental Pren-her™

Author of Discovering Your Inner Samurai: The Entrepreneurial Woman's Journey to Business Success