3 Lessons in Entrepreneurship Taught By Burning Man
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I recently returned from my first visit to the famous and infamous Burning Man. It is a big event and festival in the desert. It is something I have been familiar with for a long time but was never fully open to committing to the time of at least seven days out in the desert, not to mention traveling. For years I wrote it off but there is a lot more to it than I thought that creates this unforgettable experience.
It is an experience I will never forget and I would do it again. I have been back for a few weeks and I have been reflecting on the experience for me and I have taken away a few lessons from Burning Man that I think would be useful for this audience of coaches, entrepreneurs, and visionaries that listen to this podcast. It will be useful for you whether or not you have been to Burning Man or ever intend to go.
We discuss:
- [03:11] Lesson #1: The Magic of Type Two Fun - The first thing that people ever mention is the dust and the heat.
- [04:05] The heat and the dust challenge everyone. The shared challenges create many openings for people to help each other.
- [06:21] Type Two Fun is not exactly fun at the moment but when you look back at it you see it as fun and you are grateful that you did it, especially if it is a challenge or discomfort that you share with others. Type One fun involves pleasure without challenge.
- [07:09] You build bonds in challenge and discomfort as opposed to an easy or entirely pleasant experience. It allows you to connect with people.
- [09:30] The longer that you can tolerate staying in the type two part, the longer you can endure delayed gratification, discomfort, and uncertainty.
- [10:02] Lesson #2: Giving from a full cup.
- [12:37] At the burn, everybody is dedicated to playing a part and making it an experience. Everybody is participating, sharing, and creating a work of art together. There is a contrast to the rigid structure that normal life takes.
- [14:00] You have to become radically self-reliant first before you give so freely and help as many people as possible.
- [15:27] Before you can be the philanthropist you must be the professional. Improve yourself, expand your income and your impact, and build a business that can truly lift you up so that you can create and support with full generosity.
- [17:47] Lesson #3: Full permission to be and full self-acceptance.
- [19:20] This deep level of self-acceptance is the same secret ingredient that makes coaches and entrepreneurs compelling and successful. They know their strengths, accept their flaws, and have an authenticity about them that makes them easy to connect with.