As a business student I would not be surprised if my peers outside of the college of business thought all I aspired to in life was to make six figures, play a round or two of golf at lunch and try to make it into a corner office with a comfy chair. While all that sounds nice, it’s not what I want. What I want is to help foster peoples’ growth and make their dreams materialize.

Here at the Industrial council of Chicago, the ICNC for short, we do just that. Looking back to what I’ve read or learned in class, I discovered that entrepreneurs make up less than 10% of the population but make up over 30% of America’s overall economy. How could so few people do so much? What could I learn about them? Is it a personality trait, some animal urge, or a relentless pursuit of independence?

I don’t know. Entrepreneurs are from all strings of society and exist in almost any industry. They may be a banker who left his spreadsheets behind to go into making organic, gluten free bread or four friends who used to sell sports apparel out of briefcases outside stadiums until they finally created their own chain of stores. Young or old, an entrepreneur is an entrepreneur.

One of the most valuable qualities that I want to take out of this internship is an entrepreneurial sense of creativity and bravery. I think these are traits are critical to helping fix the problems of the world and would be some of the most important lessons I’ve learned at the ICNC these past few weeks alongside the other skills I’m learning.  The world is encapsulated in a whirlwind of problems day by day, and learning to think in an unorthodox way like an entrepreneur is critical in any plan to change the world, big or small. However, I think bravery is the most important aspect of my whole fellowship.

Learning to not be afraid of failure when it happens I think is one of the most inspiring lessons I can take out of this internship. At the events I work at for the ICNC so many entrepreneurs describe just how vulnerable they felt when things started to go south. So many of them have failed in the process of following their dreams, but hearing how they brushed themselves off, saw what went wrong and worked on fixing their issues to become successful is really something else. To an entrepreneur you only really fail when you just stop trying and give up.

While I only have a few more weeks left at the ICNC, I want to take on whatever challenges may come my way. Opportunities to learn this outside of the classroom are so rare to find. Even learning to network around influential Chicago businessmen and politicians can be intimidating it is no excuse not to try. Going back to Valparaiso this fall will be weird as I’m no longer trying to find a decent corporation to work for. I’m going to be looking down a different path and see about making my own way!