It was called the greatest sporting achievement of the 20th century by many.  No one believed that a human can run a mile in under four minutes.  The belief was considered an ultimate barrier for generations.  This disbelief was until one fateful day in 1955 when the British medical student Roger Bannister broke the barrier by a hair.  He ran a mile in just under 4 minutes.  Unbelievable feat!  Never in the history of mankind had such had an accomplishment ever taken place.

A great sculptor would never think of just shipping an untouched piece of marble to an art gallery to be displayed and sold.  A sculptor’s art is not seen in his or her ability to pick out a fine piece of stone.  The artistry comes in the sculptor’s ability to fashion something amazing out of something lifeless like stone or metal. 

In my experience, entrepreneurs are driven, passionate people. They are willing to run through brick walls to make something happen, if they believe that’s the best way to get it done. They have a vision of a successful business, and they will do whatever is necessary to make that vision a reality. That determination sets them apart from the majority of people, who quit after experiencing a setback.

 There is a misconception of the psychological makeup of the average entrepreneur.  Most people think of entrepreneurs as risk-takers, wild people who do things on a whim.  I am an entrepreneur.  I have known thousands of entrepreneurs.  This perception of them is completely wrong.  

Click here to view Naeem's presentation in the Entrepreneurship Workshop on December 5th.  

 When people talk about starting a company, they take a lot of things into consideration.  One of the main concerns is money, as it should be.  There are tremendous costs associated with starting a company.  There is the loss of income that comes when you leave your stable job to jump into the startup world. 

 Living in Silicon Valley is unlike living anywhere else, especially if you are an entrepreneur.  This place is magical!  There are so many thought provoking activities going on every day and every evening that boggle the mind.

I was recently invited by the Innovation in Journalism Program at Stanford University to present to a bunch of journalists who are here in Silicon Valley on a three-month fellowship, and talk about what fuels the culture of innovation in Silicon Valley. Naturally, people want to know the elements that create an ecosystem of entrepreneurship.

I was recently invited to speak at a summit on innovation as part of the strategic economic dialog between China and the US. I was a guest of the State Department and got to meet with many people in government and academia. I was also invited to give two lectures at the University in Dalian.

So much is changing around us, and I feel lucky to be alive and living in Silicon Valley in 2009! Despite all of the bad news and downturns that we hear about, I am meeting dozens of entrepreneurs every week for mentoring sessions, in my workshops, or through my Entrepreneurship class at the Haas School of Business at the University of California Berkeley.