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It is partly an act of faith, sometimes an act of sorrow (see the biblical story of Benjamin’s name) but most often an act of stubborn insistence that we will have a hand in shaping the future.

My last name for instance “Erekosima” ironically translates into “Don’t give him a name” – and tells the story of the first Erekosima about 6 generations before my time, who was such a feared, powerful and temperamental warlord that other members of the community declined to attach a nickname to him as was customary for other chieftains and kingmakers of his stature. As such things often go, it became his default nickname, and one of 3 surnames borne by his descendants.

Thinking about this whole issue of our traditional African names reminds me of a talk I delivered at a Men’s event in Colorado Springs a few months ago, entitled, “The Epic-Driven Life”.

In my conception, the epic-driven life is a complete philosophy of self-management through which you can ignite your noblest ambitions, douse your fears, and generally hold yourself accountable to live a more passionate life.

The word, “Epic” (ep.ic) is defined as

“…pertaining to a long poetic composition, usually centered upon a hero in which a series of achievements or events is narrated in elevated style”

(See Dictionary for this and other related definitions).

The epic-driven life is a life lived intentionally. A life in which you intentionally choose the epics that excite you, write those epics down to the best detail that you can, and then proceed with purpose to “act out” the epics of your dreams.

Millions of people read the Purpose-Driven life and while I have never gotten around to reading beyond the first page of that book, I presume there may be parallels between the lessons in that book and those I’m sharing here.

However, “Purpose” is much bigger (and for some people, more elusive) than an “epic”. An epic starts as simply as sitting down and writing down an achievement that would tickle you to death if you went out and accomplished it just as you saw it while you were daydreaming.

About 10 years ago, I purposed in my mind that I would be time-flexible when my children came. I was neither a parent, nor married at the time. It would be another 8 years before marriage, and 10 years before this first child.

However, the epic I wrote in my head has directly or indirectly informed my decisions such that I’ve been an entrepreneur for over 9 years and self-employed for the last 5. While the journey itself had twists and turns that I couldn’t have anticipated, I find myself HERE…at home on a weekday…where I thought I would be.

In a previous post on “How To Prosper in 2010” I communicated another epic upon which I’m actively working as I speak: To go from a one-man consultancy to a Business consulting firm that grosses 7 figures in record time, while generating record growth and profits for my clients.

The beauty of the epic-driven mindset is that an epic is a valuable asset all by itself. My coaching clients at MarriageInspiration.com took their tears and turned them into gold.

I have seen people completely change how they handle setbacks when they realized that “it all works together for their good” by contributing to their epic. Any story that can be told can be sold if it’s dramatic, audacious, or otherwise interesting enough.

I’ve seen the epic-driven mindset cause formerly timid sales professionals to happily glide their way to the proverbial batter’s box, because they have connected the seemingly mundane events of their lives to something far more exciting…an epic with a living, breathing, hero smack in the middle of it.

If you’re reading this post, I choose to believe that it’s because the seeds of a great epic lie within you. Release yourself to the epic of your dreams, record your achievements, your setbacks, and your insights. And then please share them.

The world awaits…

with bated breath.

Business Success Tool #3 is Surrender

A few months ago, I read an excellent book for entrepreneurs entitled “Rules for Renegades”, by Christine Comaford-Lynch. One of the most intriguing chapter headings in the book was the following instruction:

“Resign As General Manager Of The Universe”

What that chapter headline highlights is the importance of knowing when to surrender for entrepreneurs and business owners. If you’re like the typical entrepreneur, you have probably reached your level of success by your refusal to give up… your refusal to be dictated to…whether by people or by circumstance.

While persistence and a degree of stubbornness is an admirable trait for an entrepreneur, your long-term sanity depends on your ability to know the difference between factors you can control and those you cannot.

This issue goes much deeper than it might first appear, because it’s all about emotional intelligence and emotional discipline. Emotional intelligence is about understanding yourself, your weaknesses, your motivations, your risk thresholds and decision making patterns.

Emotional discipline is about applying your self-knowledge when and where it counts. Not later.

I believe that a final, oft-hidden frontier of emotional discipline for entrepreneurs and business leaders is the ability to surrender what is not in control, and sometimes, to surrender when continuing on (knowing when to quit).

The vast majority of entrepreneurs (myself included) are inclined towards “eternal optimism” and a touch of stubbornness. It takes emotional discipline to change strategy or change directions when the road you’re on clearly will not lead to the ultimate goal.

Many of the most longest surviving businesses in the world have grown on emergent strategies (strategies other than those planned on when they started out). They succeeded because the leaders at the helm had the emotional discipline to change their strategy. Whether that involved changing their target customer, marketplace, or even core competencies/processes, they had the courage to pull the switch.

Mastering the art of surrender will also help you delegate what can profitably be delegated as soon as it is practical to do so. Surrender is as important as Strategy and Sacrifice in your success toolbox.

I would love to hear your thoughts on this series and my conclusions. For your review, here are the first 2 parts of this series:

Business Success Tools Part 1 – Strategy in Success

Business Success Tools Part 2 – Sacrifice as part of success