By Frances Carrera

Entrepreneurship, while it can be enhanced and encouraged through education, cannot be taught
completely. The basic framework and strategies can be presented in a classroom setting, but it is up to
the individual to effectively implement these strategies. Entrepreneurship, in the end, is about three key
virtues that are almost impossible to teach: passion, courage, and work ethic.

Passion is something that people develop, not something that can be instilled through a series of
lectures. It is possible to inspire through lecturing, but if someone isn’t passionate about a topic or issue,
no amount of convincing or hard facts is going to change that. Passion is what drives an entrepreneur-
it’s what makes someone work 20 hour days to ensure a community in Africa gets clean water, it’s
what inspires an innovator to spend countless of hours developing a new invention, and it’s what drives
scientist to find a cure for cancer. Without passion, there is only ‘work’ to be done. Without passion, no
one asks themselves, “How can I make this better or make a difference”, which is a key question most
entrepreneurs start out with.

Entrepreneurs must expect to take risks-Image from enterpriseblog.net

If passion is what drives an entrepreneur, courage keeps them going. Having the courage to
risk everything- whether it be time, money, or precious resources, is key to entrepreneurship.
Entrepreneurship is about having guts, and no matter how hard they try, professors cannot teach that.
You also can’t teach someone how to know which risks to take, how to take them, or what will work
and what won’t- if you could, everyone would be rich! Of course, entrepreneurship is not always about
risking it all- in fact, being an entrepreneur is very different from gambling. Business gamblers take
risks in search of big payouts, while entrepreneurs take risks to do new things, solve problems, and
are motivated by much more than the reward of quick, easy money. Professors can teach the skills
necessary to make large scale decisions- especially financial ones- but passion, courage, and work ethic
are what separate the gamblers from true entrepreneurs.

Entrepreneurial success depends as much on temperament as on teaching. Entrepreneurship education
can help guide those with the right spirit, those with passion and courage, but it also takes a strong
work ethic and commitment to succeed. You can’t teach someone to work hard unless they want to.
It takes a distinct combination of ambition and drive to be an entrepreneur, and without the proper
work ethic, even the most passionate of entrepreneurs can fail. Most entrepreneurs fail anyway!
However, they gather the courage to rebuild and move on- and that type of commitment can’t be
taught. This, however, is not to say entrepreneurship should not be part of a school’s curriculum. In fact,
it’s imperative that entrepreneurial thought be encouraged and students be inspired. Passion, courage,
and strong work ethic can take someone only so far if they don’t have the right tools, knowledge, and
connections to push ahead, especially in the business world. Yet, a person is far more handicapped if
they have the knowledge without passion or courage- virtues that cannot be developed by force.

While there are several elements that can be taught to enhance the knowledge and success of
entrepreneurs, in the end, entrepreneurship is something one can learn only by doing. Students need to
be armed with inspiration and can be taught how to take an idea in the right direction, but ultimately,
it’s up to them to decide how far they want to take it. True entrepreneurs are defined by their passion
and their experiences, not the degrees they hold, and that is why entrepreneurship, while it can be
developed and inspired, can’t truly be taught.