If you’re an entrepreneur of any kind, it’s likely you’ve already started, but maybe you’re just not aware of it. Here are few signs of whether you’re an entrepreneur and don’t know it:

• Do you work harder than most for quality and value when others around you would prefer to maintain the status quo?
• Do you feel like you care more about the work, customer, and/or employer than those around you?
• Do you do your best work simply because you couldn’t imagine doing it any other way?

If you’ve answered yes to any of these questions then surely you’re an entrepreneur.

It’s easy to think that an entrepreneur is a business owner or the like, but really entrepreneurship is the just the willingness to do something and take responsibility for it. And actually, the definition for leadership isn’t much different, which is why entrepreneurship and leadership go hand in hand. The entrepreneur takes responsibility for their life, career, etc… and goes for it. There’s no need to begin at some distant point in the future, as I’ve said, you’re likely already doing it; make a conscious decision to start where you’re at.

The path.

Often, the path we’re on, isn’t the path we want to be on.

Imagine, how different the world and our experience could be if we could let go of the idea that we want to be somewhere, other than where we are at this very moment.

It seems like a profound idea, but should it be?

After all, we’re where we’re supposed to be until we’re not.

I talk to a lot of people about Twitter. I was a serious non-believer in Twitter, for a long time. I registered an account not long after they opened up shop, and I just didn’t get it. I mean, I got it, but the idea of micro-blogging, and “What are you doing now?” seemed to be creepy and narcissistic, actually I still feel that way, but I have found value in it.

It’s not that I care so much about what somebody just ate for breakfast, or that they’re stuck in traffic, or “so excited for the weekend!” which may have some value among groups of Twitter users, but next to none for the general Twitter pool. However, it’s the quick blurbs of information with links to articles I’m interested in, interviews, and other information that has really pulled me into being a user.

The take away: If you’re looking for articles, information, breaking news and the like, I would say that Twitter has a lot of value. I would also say that if you tweet about your work, your interests, etc… and it caters to the sort of PR and tech folks that are on Twitter then they might get the message, and you might be able to build interest in what you’re doing locally; eventually making real-world, physical contacts.

No job, no problem: here’s a list of 10 things to do while unemployed.

1. Learn a skill.
2. Read a book.
3. Go to the library.
4. Exercise; get in shape.
5. Learn a Language.
6. Plant a garden.
7. Learn a musical instrument.
8. Do volunteer work.
9. Go for a walk.
10. Start a journal.

1. Learn a skill. What does it take to learn a skill? Usually time and patience. When you’re unemployed time is in great supply. Use that time to do something productive; learn woodworking, plumbing, electrical or something else where you can build or repair something. These aren’t just great things to know, they’re practical and can help a great deal in every day life.

2. Read a book. When you’re unemployed there’s nothing but time to read that book you’ve had sitting on your night stand forever. Secondarily, reading is great way to escape from the doldrums of unemployment.

3. Go to the library. Get curious. Go to the library and learn about something. Someone, though, I can’t remember who at this point, once told me that a library card is one of the most important things you’ll ever have. That’s a philosophy I believe, and lived by. Check out the local library.

4. Exercise; get in shape. You have lots of time; move, exercise, do some yoga… you’re not rushed, so go ahead and walk to your daily errands. Exercise also serves to get out those energies that collect in your being when you’re out of work. Get movin’!

5. Learn a language. It takes time to learn a language. Use your unemployment freedom to acquire a foreign tongue. During one unemployment stint I started a translation of the Tao Te Ching, which I’m still working on today, and may be for quite a while longer…

6. Plant a garden. A garden, a flower box, or a flower bed can be a great way to not feel so disconnected from the world. Periods of unemployment, when your friends, spouse, etc. are working can be lonely. Cultivating soil and planting is a timeless and ancient endeavor that can connect you with the earth. I’ve found it especially peaceful to embrace this natural world during when struggling with employment woes.

7. Learn a musical instrument. Everyone has a piano, guitar, recorder or some other kind of musical instrument they’re not using. Get your hands on a musical instrument and try to pick it up. Nothing is so relaxing as a plunking out a few chords on a piano or a strumming a guitar. The cost of admittance is low, and it can be really rewarding and relaxing.

8. Do volunteer work. People need help and can’t afford to pay — offer your time. You won’t be paid in cash, but you will be paid in kindness and good will, things are often, but not always, in short supply during periods of unemployment. Too often, when I’ve been faced with unemployment, I’ve resorted to feeling better by eating a Big Mac, or an entire supreme pizza, there are better and more healthful ways to get recharged… try volunteer work.

9. Go for a walk. In the rush of daily living that usually encompasses the gainfully employed how often did you get the opportunity to walk around your neighborhood. This is kind of a dove-tail into #4, but I wanted it to be separate, and not about exercise, but rather about exploring your locale. Be a tourist in your own town. Go out walking, look around, meet people, and connect with the world around you. It’s so simple, and so rewarding, yet it’s also very challenging to do when you’re working… make the best out of the unemployment time, because even though it’s dreadful at times, it won’t last forever.

10. Keep a journal. Unemployment can be a real bummer vitality suck. Write about your experiences and get the the thoughts and energies out there. Writing can be a cathartic and healing process that can allow you to get in touch with yourself. Keep a journal or put together a blog. Writing down the trials and triumphs can settle the madness of unemployment down.

Unemployment doesn’t last, but it is lasting longer and longer for folks out there. For me, personally, I’ve tried or done all of these things in periods of lay-off or unemployment before. Being unemployed sucks, but if you can keep your body and mind alive and feeling good through work and exercise, you’ll make it through happier and more satisfied. You will get through it, but like any prisoner of circumstance knows, doing good time is the goal.

The best investment you can make is your in self. That’s what I’ve taken to telling myself and the countless family and friends who have been laid off, and after months of being on unemployment aren’t seeing any real opportunities coming their way. “It’s one thing if there are interviews,” one friend told me, “but when you don’t even have the hope of that after hours and hours of job hunting, it gets kind of depressing.” Yes, yes it does, I agree with that.

I’ve been laid off probably seven times, usually from small businesses, who were on their way out of business. I recall one job as a graphic designer where the electricity was turned off, and I lost all of an intense (and ill-advised) Photoshop layout, over one hundred and fifty layers. When the bill was finally paid and the electricity was turned back on I went at it again, and you know what it was a better design and came together more quickly, but that’s hardly the moral of the story, because in fact I was laid off a month later… didn’t see that one coming — HA!.

Being laid off sucks! It diminishes your self-worth, poisons your outlook on life, makes you resentful, and generally is just a sad time; unfortunately these feelings only intensify proportionate to the time you’re without a job or the hope of any kind of gainful employment. The suck train just keeps a rollin’… until you reach a point where you either crack, roll over and give up, or you decide that you’re not going to be a victim of bad times and you need to take control of the only thing you can, yourself. It’s no surprise that more millionaires were made during the Great Depression than any other time. The fight or flight instincts take over, and you decide I’m going to do fix this, I can do this for myself, and you do. You do, because the best investment you can make is in yourself!

That’s the gist of a post I read on Twitter this morning. I laughed out loud when I read that, because social media can be a real time suck, and I know I’ve used those words myself before.

The fact is social media is time and labor-intensive, worse still is if you don’t have any idea where you’re going, or what you’re trying to achieve. You can post on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, write a daily blog, etc… but that’s hours of work, that needs to be done on a daily basis or at least a couple times a week. Without a plan or a goal there’s also no way to measure if the work is a success, and should be continued.

The fact that tools like Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube are free and blogs can be added to any Web site with little work, and no cost combined with the potential of these tools (to say nothing of the hype factor) has a lot of organizations eager to utilize them. However, because there’s no capital investment organizations aren’t prone to developing a plan or strategy for implementation. Often, I hear of communications managers, web designers, or copy writers inheriting the “social media” piece because organizationally they seem to be the best fit for it… equally often this inheritance comes with no plan, strategy or awareness of how much time the implementation, but more importantly the upkeep of social media takes.

I highly recommend that anybody getting into social media ask themselves what success would look like, then survey the time involved, and most importantly figure out whether there are resources to support it. Once you’ve got these in place then you start thinking about a plan/strategy.

I participated in an interesting Webinar yesterday called Using Social Media for Disaster Response and Recovery, that was put on by the PRSA (Public Relations Society of America).There were a lot of good points, but one point regarding Web content, particularly in the realm of social media, stuck with me; the idea that people aren’t reading they’re scanning so messages need to be brief and pertinent. This isn’t a particularly new concept, but as I thought about that it dawned on me that I “scan” hundreds of articles every day in my RSS feed aggregater… from that I might read two dozen, and feel obliged to write about one or two, generally… I’ve already started applying this brief/pertinent message piece to my Twitter and Facebook activity with the longer posts showing up here, but I might try working the brief/pertinent angle into this blog more…