I’ve said it before and I’m sure I’ll say it again, I did not make the word Innerpreneur up. I was only drawn to it once upon a time ago (early 2007) when I was starting my business.
I saw the book Karma Queens, Geek Gods and Innerpreneurs in the bookstore and despite the fact that I had little interest in the book’s overall themes, I bought it. I was compelled by the term, Innerpreneur, and intrigued by the people it described.
It spoke to me. I connected with it. I didn’t totally understand what being an Innerpreneur meant but I found truth in it.
I don’t know what it means to you but here’s what it means to me.
A year and half later, I still don’t know what being an Innerpreneur means to you. And I not sure I ever will. I’ve tried to define it for the community but the reality is I only know what it means to me.
As an Innerpreneur, I believe in:
- Authentic marketing (If it’s not the truth, I’m not going to say it.)
- Integrative thinking (I’m not an either/or kind of girl. I’m not creative or logical, left or right-brained, I’m both. I come up with ways to have my cake and eat it too.)
- Inner-directed action (There is only me and my relationship with others and the world. It is my responsibility to be aware of how I think, feel and act.)
- Values-based business (Business that supports purpose, profit and people.)
- Integral living (That the relationship between body, mind and soul needs to be integrated into all aspects of living.)
Do we really need to define it in order to feel it?
The word is just a word. It has no real tangible value. It’s the ideas expressed in the word that have real power.
My intention was never to use the word to separate us from other business owners. I use the word to connect with those of a similar mindset and as a means to encompass my radical (aka inner-directed) views on business… and life.
If you are drawn to the word, you might like what I have to say. But then again, you might not. I’m just expressing what I am learning on my Innerpreneurial journey. I’m not every Innerpreneur, I don’t represent anyone, nor do I know the answers. Your journey and your learning might look similar to mine, or they might not.
It’s my words, not the word, that counts.
I’ve been torturing my Self by thinking that the word defines me as a writer, that without it I don’t have a voice. That without Innerpreneur to stand behind, my words don’t count. That you only visit because of the word, not because of my words.
I worry about you getting bored with me. And the great irony of my fear is if I rest on the word, you inevitably will. Boredom only sets in when something is no longer relevant. If I stop growing and exploring my ideas and rest on some term, I would cease adapting and I would become stale.
So I write this article as a reminder to my Self that the word Innerpreneur does not define me, it is simply my means to find you and to draw you in. The word is part of my radio signal but it is not my music.
