This post is two-fold. First, from a content creation perspective, here's a quick entrepreneurial tip: infographics are GREAT ways to share your concept with your target audiences. This below is a great example of an infographic.

And, what is an infographic? It's a visual way to bring data or lists to life rather than just through copy.

Secondly, let's move on to the topic of entrepreneurship. It's true that no one said being a business owner of ANY size is easy. It's not. There are many vicissitudes that come with running a business of any size (from freelancer/solopreneur to a small, mid or larger sized company). And with those ups and downs comes a lot of challenging experiences that make us face our fears head-on.

When you think of entrepreneurship, the word "success" comes into play. When you look at the word success it's way too easy to start thinking about Ferrari's and yachts. That's the American way at looking at this word, but what about the TRUE meaning? MATERIAL things do not equate to success, especially because success looks different for everyone. There is no one definition of what success is. Material objects do NOT make one successful nor joyful (and most definitely not happy, here's some proof as to why that's true.)

Success is different for everyone but there are some fundamental truths of what success really means. It does not lie in a house, a car, or some other material object. Some of the greatest and most successful people in all of our history didn't have trillions of dollars oozing from their ears, they didn't have fancy cars or houses, but their successes have been measured by something much larger than a man-made object (money) and have a humanity-forward definition and wrap around a legacy.

Ralph Waldo Emerson said it best:

Here are some things I have found to be true as to the amazing traits of great entrepreneurs. I've spent a lot of time researching what true success can look like (according to the above and not measured by material objects), and found that there are four common traits.

We can all adopt these traits on our entrepreneurial journeys and they can help us become better leaders, not only for ourselves but for others around us. You know, things like being an INSPIRATION versus impressing. MOTIVATING versus captivating.

1. Are heart-dominant and not afraid to be so (even if it's not "status quo")

Follow your excitement and you'll always be on the right path. Many of the greats (which we all are capable of being) drive from a heart-centered approach and care about serving the greater good just as much as they care about serving themselves and the people that work for them.

2. They let go of ego, but still can shine bright

The ego can cause many issues if a business is created from a place that's more worried about doing it to "show others" how "cool" they are (because those "others" shouldn't matter at all)! PURPOSE is not about serving ego, but about serving OTHERS.

3. Are not fearless

A great entrepreneur understands that they have fear just like everyone else. The key difference though is moving BEYOND the fear to jump in and then sharing HOW to move through fear (rather than acting as though they're something other than human).

4. Are all about sharing the wealth

Great entrepreneurs that experience a mass of abundance know that giving back is the way to create harmony in our world. They're not afraid to share their wealth and offer others guidance.

See below to view the 4 traits infographic or click here to download to share!