Lorrie Thomas Ross, CEO of Web Marketing Therapy®Entrepreneurship is commonly defined as “the act of designing, launching and running a new business, which often comes with taking on greater financial risks in order to do so.” While this definition is factual, it’s scientific and soulless - missing the art, and most importantly, the heart and spirit of what drives the decision to pave a new professional path.Yes, being an entrepreneur requires organizing and operating a business, but it’s so much more than that. The spirit of entrepreneurship is propelled by a desire and purpose to do something distinct, needed and meaningful.The spirit is rooted in creativity, no matter what the entrepreneurial venture is.Creativity is rooted in purpose. When you are driven by purpose, the creativity flows and there is no question about whether or not to be an entrepreneur, it’s only a matter of when. For spirited entrepreneurs, the biggest risk is not taking the risk to start your own business. The risks far outweigh the thought of your idea not coming to fruition.Being an entrepreneur and running a business that supports entrepreneurs, I find the ones with the spirit that drives success parallels with Ikigai – the Japanese concept that means "a reason for being." The word "ikigai" is commonly used to indicate the source of value in one's life or the things that make one's life worthwhile.There is a fantastic chart that shows how people find their reason for being and how the concepts below layer over each other, which to me, is so connected to entrepreneurial spirit. Ikigai aligns:

• What you really love
• What the world needs
• What you can get paid for
• What you are good at

When these overlap, passion, mission, profession and vocation become aligned. The entrepreneurial spirit creatively drives passion and purpose.To me, being an entrepreneur means having the creative license to make a personal and professional life that matters to myself and others. I don’t do what I do just because I am good at it or the world needs it, I do it because I love the inspiring entrepreneurs I support and I adore the wonderful people I work with and create jobs for.It takes passion, perseverance and purpose to be an entrepreneur and I congratulate all the entrepreneurs out there – on World Entrepreneurs' Day and EVERYDAY!! 

“Being an entrepreneur means having the creative license to make a personal and professional life that matters to you and others.”

-Lorrie Thomas Ross

About the Author: Lorrie Thomas Ross helps inspiring entrepreneurs brand, build and boost business. She is the CEO of Web Marketing Therapy®, a marketing optimization firm and the founder of Wild Web Women®, a company that helps women architect careers that support the lives they want and deserve. She is the author of The McGraw-Hill 36-Hour Course to Online Marketing. She creates custom marketing and business training programs for corporations and speaks on a number of business, marketing and career related topics.