I asked a question on Twitter yesterday:

Do you believe that you are born an entrepreneur or do you think that you can learn it?

The answer?  Most all think that some people are born with it but that it is something that can be learned.

Fine.

I can accept that.

The reason I asked?

My son came home with a box of 50 candy bars to sell for band.  He makes 50% of the profit and what he makes is applied to the cost of his field trip at the end of the year.

He called and asked if he could sell them outside the gas station across the street.  I told him I didn’t care as long as he asked the manager.  In my mind, I was saying, “Really?  Because it’s like negative 50 outside and you want to go sell candy bars?”

To me, the $25 he was going to earn was worth paying so as to not have to go out and peddle things people don’t need.

But my son, age 13, is not the average 13 year old.

When I arrived to the house, I glanced across the street and saw him decked out like Nanook of the North, a box of candy bars in his hand.

What’s more?  There was a smile on his face.  I stood and watched him for a moment, noticing, that he was saying hello to every customer that walked by him as they entered the store.

I was proud of him for braving the cold to earn money for his trip.  I certainly wouldn’t do it.  Not wanting him to be discourage at his lack of sales, I took the three younger kids over and let them each buy a candy bar.  That way, he wouldn’t get skunked.

I took him some pizza and a little TV tray to put his candy bars on.  He was still smiling.

No sooner did I start on my second piece of pizza, the door flew open, and with rosey red cheeks he stated, “I’m sold out.”

“You sold 50 candy bars in 45 minutes?” I asked, astounded.

His sister, who had gone along to “help” shouts, “Some guy bought all of his candy so he didn’t have to stand in the cold anymore!”

“How many did you have left?” I asked.

“Forty-two,” he said.

Yes, you read that right.  A kind citizen bought $42 worth of candy from my son because he recognized that my son was going above and beyond what most 13 year olds would do with a box of candy to raise money.

My son never asked me to sell it at work.  My son never asked me if he HAD to sell it.  My son immediately spotted an opportunity to sell the candy and acted on it.

Because of that, he was rewarded.

“High achievers spot rich opportunities swiftly, make big decisions quickly and move into action immediately. Follow these principles and you can make your dreams come true.”  Robert H. Schuller

Today, he brought home another box of candy.  His goal is to have his trip completely paid for.

While he knows that someone buying 42 candy bars isn’t the norm, he also knows that standing outside the gas station in the cold will yield more sales than asking Mom to take them to work.

Was he born with it?  Has he learned it?

I don’t know the answer to that question, but what I do know?

Watch out for that child in the future.

He gets it.

I wouldn’t be surprised to see him on Handshake 2.0.

Now if only my daughter had the same mentality…