What is an entrepreneur?

It seems that the entrepreneur is a bit of a maverick.  They are equal parts Renaissance Person, true believer, and test pilot.  An entrepreneur is a futurist that is always asking the "what if" question as they seek to find solutions to problems.  It is through the solving of problems that the entrepreneur makes lasting changes that creates long-term value and utility.  The entrepreneur chooses a life of risk as they often operate on the fringes of knowledge and accepted reality.  They face criticism from naysayers that say that what they are doing can't be done.  The Chinese have a little proverb that states, "Those that say it cannot be done should get out of the way of those doing it."  So the entrepreneur must fight uphill, with limited resources, against criticism and opposition, all the while believing they will succeed, but knowing that failure is a real possibility.  I believe the fear of failure is one of the main reasons that few chose the path of the entrepreneur.  I have a saying (one that my wife hates) that goes a little like this, "If it were easy then everyone would do it."  The Entrepreneur's Guidebook reminds us that the entrepreneur's goal is not to create wealth but to create value and utility.  If you seek to create value you might create wealth but seeking to create wealth generally creates no wealth or value.  This is a very important idea that allows us to distinguish entrepreneurs from those that plot get-rich-quick schemes.