Throughout the history of the United States entrepreneurship has been the engine of our economy. It's an economy built upon the hopes, dreams, imaginations and innovations of entrepreneurs who believe in a vision inspired by a single idea to change the world.

In this issue of Promotional Consultant Today, we honor the spirit of entrepreneurship by looking at the four daily disciplines that make this class of businesspeople successful.

Entrepreneurs who are successful demonstrate an unwavering commitment to greatness. They are unwilling to submit to failure because of self-discipline, sacrifice, will power and a continual pursuit to fulfill one's entrepreneurial destiny. These entrepreneurs must develop the four D's of daily disciplines: determination, dedication, discrimination, and diligence.

The entrepreneur functions in two worlds: an economy driven by profit and an entrepreneurial vision governed by purpose. In addition, an entrepreneur must develop the attribute of mental tenacity when waging war with the enemy of doubt and the temptation to give up one's dream of entrepreneurship. If the entrepreneur is firmly rooted by vision, faith and service to humanity, they will be strengthened in the midst of economic volatility, determined in the midst of economic downturns and empowered even when exhausted.

Entrepreneurs must not only learn to navigate the business world, they must also learn how to navigate their emotional world. It is the emotions of the entrepreneur which should be examined, evaluated and assessed daily to remove any mental/psychological hindrances so that the entrepreneur is positioned for lasting success. An entrepreneur must affirm his or her significance in this changing economy by being grounded in the values of delayed gratification, self-control and will power, and live with risk in an ever-changing economy. An entrepreneur's strong skill must be accompanied by his or her strong will to achieve.

Greatness never comes easy, but can be achieved if the entrepreneur incorporates daily disciplines into life through will power, self-control, determination, discrimination, dedication and diligence. In the end, what drives an entrepreneur is passion, purpose, profit and service to others, which can only be cultivated by will power and self-discipline.

Source: Eliakim Thorpe is a sought after speaker, a business consultant, entrepreneur, author and an authority on organizational transformation. He draws from his experience working with and consulting for Fortune 10 to Fortune 100 companies such as IBM, Whirlpool, General Motors, Chrysler, Pfizer and many others.