Entrepreneurship As A Calling

The practical and spiritual aspects of entrepreneurship as a calling are well documented in “The Call of the Entrepreneur.”

Entrepreneurship As A Calling

A documentary on entrepreneurship as a calling that I found very compelling was “The Call of the Entrepreneur” produced by the Acton Institute. It addresses both practical and spiritual aspects of entrepreneurship from the point of view of three very different entrepreneurs:

• Brad Morgan, a dairy farmer in Evart, Michigan who transforms a failing farm into a successful dairy and compost company.
• Frank Hanna, a merchant banker in New York City who explains how entrepreneurship transforms the economy into a positive sum game.
• Jimmy Lai who grew up in Communist China and then Hong Kong, emigrating to New York to found retail and media companies.

What Are You Throwing Away That You Could Be Selling?

I found Brad Morgan’s story to be the most interesting, as he says, “You put your butt in a corner, you would be surprised what you could achieve.” Certainly a familiar feeling for most bootstrapping entrepreneurs, sometimes more than once a month in the early going. The documentary stresses the creative problem solving aspects of entrepreneurship. When Morgan figures out he can convert an excess of cow manure into a compost–so that he can sell it instead of having to pay to have hauled away–it’s a light bulb moment. He is down to earth and pragmatic, and his story offers two lessons for bootstrappers of all sorts:

• what are you throwing away that has value to someone?
• What is someone else throwing away that you could recycle or re-purpose into something valuable?

Trailer For The Call Of The Entrepreneur

About The Acton Institute

The Mission of the Acton Institute is to promote a free and virtuous society characterized by individual liberty and sustained by religious principles.

The Acton Institute for the Study of Religion and Liberty is named after the great English historian, Lord John Acton (1834-1902). He is best known for his famous remark: “Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.” Inspired by his work on the relation between liberty and morality, the Acton Institute seeks to articulate a vision of society that is both free and virtuous, the end of which is human flourishing. To clarify this relationship, the Institute holds seminars and publishes various books, monographs, periodicals, and articles.

Where To Buy DVD and Study Guide

Please note that these are not affiliate links, it’s just much cheaper to buy from the Acton Institute directly than Amazon or Barnes and Noble.

• Purchase DVD for “Call of the Entrepreneur” for $20
• “The Entrepreneurial Vocation” by Rev. Robert A. Sirico
  Endowed with particular natural talents, the entrepreneur is the primary agent of economic progress in the modern world. Yet while the free society is highly dependent upon the entrepreneur for its material existence, the vocation of business is relatively unappreciated within the religious community.
• IMDB entry for Call of the Entrepreneur

Call of the Entrepreneur

Now available on YouTube

Related Blog Posts And Articles

• • The Entrepreneur as Servant by Rev. Robert A. Sirico
  • Entrepreneurial Motivation
  • If I Knew How Hard a Startup Would Be
  • What Silicon Valley Can Learn From Grand Rapids
  • The Heart The Holds On

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