Following the tragic plane crash that killed Dr. Myles Munroe, a preacher, author, motivational speaker and business coach, along with his wife Mrs. Ruth Ann Munroe, Ventures Africa has teamed up with Mara Mentor, an online community that enables ambitious entrepreneurs to connect with experienced and inspiring business leaders, to list the entrepreneurial lessons we should all embrace from the late speaker. 

VENTURES AFRICA – “The greatest tragedy in life is not death, but a life without purpose,” said internationally renowned Christian preacher, Dr Myles Munroe who passed away with his wife, Mrs Ruth Ann Munroe, in a plane crash yesterday in the Bahamas.

Another look at the statement reveals its profoundness. Indeed, what is life without purpose? Put simply, a purpose-driven life is one which is simple, direct and helps channel energies towards specific tasks. Successful entrepreneurs exude this. They’re oft celebrated for focus and determination – many of the most successful entrepreneurs faced great challenges: discouragement, unfair ultimatums, and, even discrimination and abandonment before they became the toast of the media. Thus, we must be purpose-driven to succeed in life and business.

From Steve Jobs to Ashish Thakkar the stories follow a similar spectrum of struggle, wilderness, ultimatums, discovery and success. But one unique factor is the dedicated pursuit of set goals.  The entrepreneurs we celebrate remained focused, believing in somewhat vague or complicated ideas that have changed the course of business, technology, science and every other facet of man’s existence. They were not distracted. They did not waiver.

Find below five quotes from Dr Myles Munroe on purpose and other things, and an exposition on how it can impact your entrepreneurial journey:

• “Solid character will reflect itself in consistent behaviour, while poor character will seek to hide behind deceptive words and actions.” 

African entrepreneur Ashish Thakkar once spoke of integrity as the major factor to business success. People must know what you stand for, and if your business is good enough, investors will throw in the funds you desire.  You do not need to falsify marketing numbers, social media likes/followers, or compromise your values. An unwavering character is pertinent to building trust in business. Mentorship helps in this regard.

• “People generally fall into one of three groups: the few who make things happen, the many who watch things happen, and the overwhelming majority who have no notion of what happens. Every person is either a creator of fact or a creature of circumstance. He either puts colour into his environment, or, like a chameleon, takes colour from his environment.” 

Entrepreneurs impact society positively. They cause disruption. They make things happen. They lead a purpose-driven life. They know what they want, and go for it.  An entrepreneur colours her environment à ponders on challenges faced in society and comes up with solutions for it, while generating revenue.

• “When purpose is not known, abuse is inevitable” 

There are stories of people of got into business with no clear focus (purpose) and went bankrupt in a few weeks/months. As an entrepreneur, identifying the vision (purpose) of the business you’re building is an integral part of eventual success. You must also sell that vision to your employees. When the chips are down, it keeps everyone going. And when there is little success, the vision, keeps you hungry. It prevents you from rewarding yourself too early/abusing success.

• “You must decide if you are going to rob the world or bless it with the rich, valuable, potent, untapped resources locked away within you.”

Most people get into business for profit. It is legal. Nothing stops you from making profit, but in building sustainable businesses, it is important to incorporate social responsibility. You must make sure your business is not solely driven by profit-making.  If you ensure your business doesn’t have a negative impact on society, you will be the better for it.

• “Desire is craving enough to sacrifice for”

There is no explaining the part passion/desire plays in business success.  Indeed the desire to succeed, coupled with strategy and sacrifice is the benchmark of successful enterprises. Living a purpose-driven life however helps centralizes your desires. There is no distraction and goals are clear. For startups, it is important that goals, backed up with passion/desire, are clearly defined and actionable. It is also important to sell the vision to employees. They have to crave success daily.