The Call of the Entrepreneur

When I graduated high school, my mother gave me a small piece of torn paper with a hand- written quote by Aristotle inscribed on it. It read, "Where your talents and the needs of the world cross, there lies your vocation." Over the next several years, I had always taken the quote to be a call towards service and non-profit work. But I gradually came to the realization that my scope was terribly narrow. Service to others and the meeting of needs is, in fact, the call of the entrepreneur.

This film was my first encounter with the Acton Institute (http://www.acton.org/), which produced the film. It was an energizing experience that ultimately led to my involvement with Acton's next venture, PovertyCure (www.povertycure.org). I can highly recommend The Call of the Entrepreneur as it quite literally changed my life.

Few social or religious leaders understand the value of entrepreneurs to our society. Too many see financial success as produced only by taking from others. Economic projections are built on looking back through history and projecting trends. But innovators never fit nicely into that mold. Innovators bring something new to the table.

Business builders are the wild card in the game of economic growth. People who are willing to risk all they have (and even their lives) to start something new or make something better.

This movie shares several stories of real-life business builders. I especially liked the story of the boy who made his way out of communist China in search of economic freedom. Wonderful!