Who Is A Starta?

The words keep changing. They get institutionalized. They start to carry more meaning than they initially started off with. Like the word ‘entrepreneur’.

Used to mean, “people who shift resources from areas of low productivity to areas of higher productivity”.

People who effectively managed efficiency.

Now it means anyone who is self-employed. Anyone who owns a business.

The words keep changing. But there still are people who genuinely do shift resources, who genuinely do utilize the 20 percent of work for 80 percent of the result.

There are still the ‘old-school entrepreneurs’ who strive to improve the quality of their lives, and of those around them (that is the automatic result of effectively improving efficiency)

So I needed a new term. A new word.

To define people who started things because they:

• found it interesting
• knew there is a better way of improving the overall quality of other people’s lives (that is, in fact, the definition of philanthropy)
• wanted to do things better (improve efficiency of legacy processes and methods)
• wanted to do better things (be more effective; choose the correct method for doing a certain task)
• thought it would be cool to live life to the fullest (after all, it is the only one they get)

These people are Startas.

They start projects that integrate their interests, help them achieve their targets while helping others improve.

Startas may be afraid to do things differently but they do things differently anyway. Sometimes it is a requirement to be unconventional, to be a nonconformist to find a better way that is way better. But they are not different for the sake of being different, they are not rebellious because that is what happens to be in fashion these days.

They question authority, not because it is hip to do so, but because they want to understand. So they can further improve.

Startas understand that being happy is a high-priority target (it helps to know that being happy is equal to being interested in your work and surroundings).

Being Awesome Is Being A Starta

Being awesome means to be inspiring.

These folks inspire you, to take further action.

How does inspiration work? You see them doing things, and you think, “I wish I could do that,” and because they make it look so damn easy, you say, “I can do this!”

Most bloggers (and writers) look at people like Pat Flynn and Chris Gullebeau (two of my biggest inspirations), and think, “wow, I can do this too!”.

But when was the last time most bloggers committed to writing 1,000 words per day, for as many days and months and years as it takes?

Almost deliberately it seems, Startas hide their own tenacity and capacity for hard (and smart) work,  just to lure you in. You are inspired. You dive right in, and the water’s not freakin’ fine! But now you are in, almost gasping for air, taking in deep, rasping breaths you come to terms with the cold water. You curse the day you listened to them. But then it gets better, it gets easier, and soon being awesome becomes your habit too.

Soon you are being awesome, doing things you never though you would, the smile on your face now touches your ears, and people write to you that ‘how inspiring you are to them’. The cycle continues. Like it always had. Only the words keep changing.

P.S. If you want to know how to be a Starta, how to be awesome, subscribe to Life ETC; I will be writing a HOW TO on this soon, God willing. 😉