Entrepreneurs will save the world.

I’m putting that right out front because it’s true. Don’t believe me? The screen you are looking at right now was brought to you by an entrepreneur. Sitting? The chair came from an entrepreneur. Standing? Your sneakers are from an entrepreneur. Almost every thing you use to function in this world is brought to you by an entrepreneur. The rest, is a gift from nature. And a lot of people think God is an entrepreneur, so I guess you can argue nature’s gift is from an entrepreneur too.

Entrepreneurs make the world go around. And are the ones who, ultimately, tackle our biggest challenges and fix our biggest problems. Entrepreneurs will save the world.

This is why my life’s work is empowering entrepreneurs to grow remarkable businesses. I truly believe entrepreneurs will save the world – through innovation, invention and problem solving, by providing people with jobs, benefits and opportunity, and by contributing to the global economy.

I remember when I gave my first speech. It was right after my book came out. I put every ounce of my being into that speech. I wanted to inspire, support, help, do whatever I could to help every entrepreneur in the audience. During the Q&A, one of the guys in the audience stood up and said “What are you trying to do, Mike? Are you trying to save the world?” He was cynical, but he wasn’t being mean. He simply pointed out that I was serving an impossible cause.

That was a defining moment for me. The question struck a chord with me, and something I always knew to be true, but struggled to articulate came blurting out. It was obvious and exact and defined the blueprint for every remaining day I have on this earth.

I said, “I am not trying to save the world. Entrepreneurs are doing that. I am here to save entrepreneurs.”

It wasn’t eloquent. It wasn’t polished. It was just who I am. And it was spot on.

Because I believe entrepreneurs have always been the saviors of humanity, and I believe they will continue to make stuff, provide solutions and put forth genius ideas that make our lives better, healthier, easier, safer and happier. Entrepreneurs will continue to save the world, and I will do all I can to ensure that they have the most effective strategies and tools to make their entrepreneurial dreams come true.

When an entrepreneur succeeds in bringing their dream to fruition, when they are able to knock it out of the park and build something truly great, something significant, we all benefit.

Now don’t get me wrong. I am not the jaded fool who thinks every entrepreneur is the next Steve Jobs, or that even one entrepreneur is “pure.”  I mean, let’s get real… they are people just like the rest of us. The have egos, they make mistakes, and they have moments of glory – just like all of us. But the reason I believe entrepreneurs have what it takes to save the world is because they have vision and the courage to just go for it. It’s the inherent nature of an entrepreneur – if you are going to innovate, if you’re going to make something from nothing, you automatically enter uncharted territory. The risk is unavoidable. And entrepreneurs are down with that. They willingly take up the charge and forge ahead into the unknown, sometimes with very limited resources. These are the people who are innately wired and uniquely qualified to make a real difference in the world.

If you’ve read one of my books or seen me speak, or watched my videos, you’ve probably heard me share stories about how I built my first two companies. As an entrepreneur, I’ve experienced the highest highs and the lowest lows. I currently operate a small business, sit on the advisory board of many others, and spend countless hours talking with and listening to entrepreneurs. Some would say that I’m a bit obsessed with entrepreneurship (my wife, Krista, would say that for sure), and I’m actually okay with that. I am obsessed. I readily admit that building a kick-ass, super-successful business that outshines the competition while truly serving my passion and unabashedly being myself turns me on. But what really drives me is my unwavering desire to empower entrepreneurs so that they can change the world. I mean that turns me on, like, at psycho levels.

I’m going to go out on a limb here and assume you didn’t launch your business with the intention of being mediocre. You’re not putting your heart, soul and sweat into a venture that you hope will one day become a modest success. (If you are, I suggest you stop right now and go get a job. And I mean that in the nicest way possible.)

Entrepreneurs are pioneers. We’re inventors, risk-takers, visionaries. We make stuff that changes society. We find better, faster, cheaper, more exciting ways to get things done. We build something from nothing every single day, and that takes passion – passion for something greater than our own well being.

In order to pull off the big plans, every entrepreneur  needs a big “why.” It’s not enough to want to set crazy awesome monetary goals. It’s not enough to want to beat your competitor at every single opportunity.. And it’s not even enough to want to be the best. Only a higher calling – a desire to make something better for someone (or a lot of someones)– will give you the stamina, ingenuity and spirit to build a business that the rest of us can’t live without.

The funny part – the paradox of it all – is when you do what you do for your “why,” for your purpose… the being better and the making more just happens naturally.

Never forget this:

Entrepreneurship is life’s ultimate playground.

That’s my why. That’s my purpose.

As an entrepreneur you have the opportunity to express yourself, to discover who you really are and determine why you were put on this planet. For those of us who are just looking to keep your company afloat in a tough economy, this is some big, bold, heady stuff, I know, and it may sound like something you really don’t have time to consider right now. But I hope you do, because this will save your business. I am shaking right now as a write this. My passion is to save entrepreneurs, to save you. So listen. Listen closely… eventually, struggling to make next month’s payroll is going to get old and you’re going to bail on the dream, and that hurts all of us.

We need your dream. We need your business to succeed. We need you.

The world is starving for your success.

And because we need you, and other entrepreneurs like you, I get up every day with one goal in mind: to empower and educate entrepreneurs so that there is no doubt they will succeed beyond their wildest dreams.

I find my “how,” too. I study, practice and experiment with tons of complex entrepreneurial stuff. Then I reduce it to the simple things that work and deliver it to you. I am not an investor in the classic sense – I don’t angel invest anymore (I tried it. I sucked at it. And it yielded no real benefit to me or to the entrepreneurs I was trying to help.). I am an investor in that I put all of my being in delivering the knowledge and inspiration I can imaginably muster to entrepreneurs.

If every entrepreneur (and that includes anyone and everyone who has been sitting on the sidelines, waiting for the “right time” to get in the game) focused on their big “why,” no matter what it is and consistently worked smart to make it happen, imagine how different the world could be. Let’s be real here – entrepreneurs know how to get things done, with limited resources and one hand tied behind our backs, thank you very much. And we don’t need ten committees meetings to get started on fixing a problem. We just go.

So get to it. Build something great. Go save the world!