My daughter Maya is with me at least once a day every week. Although I don’t get much done on those days, it amazed me this morning when I started to look at all the things she did and how it applied to my entrepreneurial life.

Below I have put 8 of these things in hopes that it will help some of you as well. I have tried my best to focus it on “we” as entrepreneurs, because I look at us as a community, and there’s a lot of insight for all of us here.

1. Bite off more than you can chew -

Last night sitting at the dinner table, Maya took a handful of lil’ crunchies (think Cheetos, but less tasty) and shoved them in her mouth. Of course, she chewed a couple of times and then gagged a bit and the whole mess came spilling out. Now she has somewhat of an idea where her limit is.

• Many times as entrepreneurs, we create self-imposed limits without truly reaching our potential. We create artificial lines in the sand that we don’t want to cross instead of pushing ourselves to the breaking point and truly knowing the limit. Once we know that limit (which is usually higher than we could imagine) we can be more productive than ever.

2. Sometimes you have to make a mess to learn something - 

This morning I woke up and fed Maya, and then, once I put her back to sleep, I went into my home office to check some stats and email. The first step I take into the office, I step on a block that makes a horrendous squeaking sound. Upon turning on the lights, I see these blocks strewn about the whole office.

• Kids learn through play, and that play has yet to reach a structured phase for Maya. Yet she has a higher learning curve now than ever before. At some point, we become afraid to make a mess of things, but that is where some of our most important learning comes from. We can’t be scared to really screw something up. It may just be the best learning experience of our life.

3. Take your bumps but get back up - 

I’m home alone with Maya today, and sometimes I let her take some risks so that she can learn (see #1). Today, while she was standing holding on to the foot stool, she let go, fell, hit her face on the wooden arm of the chair, and then fell over backwards and hit her head on the floor. After feeling bad for a few seconds, I rushed to her aid and within 30 seconds, there she was holding on to that same footstool.

• If we are afraid of failing, we’ll never achieve much. Even at my ripe old age of 33, that fall Maya took this morning would have taken me awhile to recover from, but there she was, giving it another try, and perfecting her technique. In a business sense, sometimes we’ll succeed, and sometimes we fail. When we do fail, get right back up and try again. Perfect the technique.

4. Don’t be too smart to be a little naive -

At bath time last night, I put Maya into the tub which was full of Mr. Bubble bubbles. She stared and stared for awhile, and then grabbed a big heaping handful and shoveled them into her mouth. I don’t think they were that great and I hope she learns that for herself, because she dos the same thing every time she has a bubble bath.

• Maya doesn’t have an internal BS button. Anything and everything is possible (and good) until she tries it for herself. Sometimes as “knowledge workers” we are too quick to shoot down possibilities before giving them a fair chance. We let phrases like “I’ve heard that before” and “This isn’t new” come between us and a possible successful solution. What if the bubbles tasted good? You never know until you try. (Random business idea: bubble bath that tastes good!)

5. Make a fool out of yourself… it’s cute (stand out) -

A month or so ago my wife and I and Maya were in Hawaii, and stopped into a Denny’s for a bite to eat. Maya was gracious enough to be on her best behavior and burp, fart, and squeal her way through breakfast, truly making a spectacle of herself, and thoroughly embarrassing her mom and I.

• Maya doesn’t yet care what people think about her, and shows it daily by being the loudest burper, farter, and squealer in the house (not by much). But it does seem like she is having a ton of fun, and no one ever says “Can you believe that kid farted?” I’m not saying we should go around showcasing our bodily functions at meetings, but we should have a little fun and be ourself. People will enjoy the originality, and the change from their everyday lives. We’ll also connect on a different, more personal level.

Don’t go down without a fight -

My wife and I recently cut the pacifier from our daily routine, and let me tell you Maya was not a big fan of that decision. Putting her down for a nap became a process, and she’ll fight it every step of the way if she has the energy.

• If we want something, don’t be afraid to stand up for it. Whether it be with friends, partners, clients, or otherwise. If we back down or get get pushed over once for something we believe in, people will continue to take advantage. If Maya fell asleep right away, we probably wouldn’t let her play as long at night to wear herself out. By putting up a fight, Maya gets what she wanted, more playing time.

7. Don’t be too proud to accept help -

I have to say I have the smartest kid around, but I may be a bit biased. Maya still, however, cannot do or reach everything. She still crawls herself into a corner, and sometimes she can’t quite reach her last lil’ crunchy snack on her highchair tray.

• Sometimes we let our ego get in the way, and many times it comes when we need the most help. We can’t be too proud, or headstrong to admit that we need some help, or a little more instruction. There are tons of people out there who specialize in that one thing that you struggle with. We need to seek them out, and ask them for their help. We can quickly overcome many more obstacles this way. 

8. If you want attention, demand it. - You may have to speak up to get noticed -

Maya, like many 7 month olds has a way of getting my attention. Usually it involves a high frequency screech of some sort, but it always works. (I think she takes advantage of this sometimes, but I’m a sucker)

• Maya has learned from Donald Trump, whose great quote goes something like “If you don’t talk about yourself, no one else will.” We sometimes think we are taking the high road by not promoting ourselves and our stuff. If we create truly valuable products and services that really help people get what they want, we aren’t only doing a disservice to ourselves by not talking, we are doing a disservice to our market.

BONUS #9. Let someone else take care of your crap -

For those of you without kids, 7 month olds don’t change their own diapers.

• If we have a task that we hate doing, or continually put off because we simply don’t understand it, find somebody who can do the task and give it to them. There is always a piece of the puzzle that we don’t like… accounting, marketing, management. Getting rid of the “crappy” tasks wil help us get more done, and enjoy our entrepreneurial status much more.