I love talking about entrepreneurship. My most quoted line on the Internet is a quote I once made at a conference off-the-cuff: “my definition of an entrepreneur: someone who steals office supplies from home and bring them to work” (February, 2003)

So given that was 3.5 years ago, I though I should update my definition of entrepreneurs.

Entrepreneurs are optimists. Optimism is contagious…

Many people think of the glass as half full or half empty. Good managers think of the glass as half full. Strategic consultants think of the glass as a way to quench their thirst (and bill you $400/hour for it). Entrepreneurs do the following:

– first, they get an empty smaller glass. Then they empty the contents of the bigger glass to the smaller glass — making the glass completely full.

– boom! No everyone around them (customers, employees, the public, etc) sees a totally full glass

– then, the entrepreneur constructs a gigantic glass next to the small glass and let’s everyone around her know that in four years, that super-duper-sized glass will be full — and not just full of water — preferably full of a strawberry-banana smoothie that we all can enjoy — mmmmmmmmm