Some thought that Secretariat was a movie about horse racing

I finally got a chance to see the movie Secretariat. In general, I think it’s really hard to produce a great movie when everyone knows how it’s going to end when they walk into the theater. So, hats off to the people who made this movie, it was great. I was expecting a fun image about horse racing along with the horse’s incredible desire to win.

But what really stood out to me was the entrepreneurial spirit of the owner. Penny Chenery, is an incredible businesswoman who was prepared to do whatever it took to keep Secretariat and ensure that she was fit to be a part of her horse legacy. For me, the scene in the movie that explains it all happened right after her father passed away.

The family was going to lose the ranch to inheritance taxes and needed to come up with $6 million to cover it. All of her family wanted her to sell the Secretariat, however, she refused. This scene confirmed the difference between a practical business person and an entrepreneur. As pragmatic people, all they had to do was sell the horse, they could have kept the ranch and have capital left over to keep it going.

But Penny was on the ball, she believed she had a winner, and she was prepared to risk it all because her belief was so strong. She could have lost everything if she had been wrong. We all know how she turned out. But this is a great example of what it really takes to be an entrepreneur. So for anyone considering whether or not he has what it takes. Put yourself in Mrs. Chenrey’s shoes and ask yourself, could she have risked losing everything to gamble on her dream?

The employer has to be sure

If you are not sure which path you would take in this case, you may not be able to be an entrepreneur. There’s nothing wrong with that, but it’s better to know ahead of time and not take risks that you can’t keep.

By the way, there is an additional part of the story, which also confirmed what kind of businesswoman Penny Chenery actually is. Once she decided to go ahead with her secretarial fundraising plan, it didn’t go well. She practically failed every time to get investors on board. Except she kept going and going until she was finally able to crack the code. Once she did, she raised over $6 million and was fit to race the horse. Ask yourself, how many phone calls would you be willing to make after being turned down over and over again, before giving up?

The Entrepreneur’s Focus on Winning the Race

Things didn’t get better for the Secretariat racing team, especially when it lost an important race just before the Kentucky Derby. Consequently, another opportunity to raise their hands in defeat. But again, because of their unwavering will to succeed, they kept going and, well, you know the rest.

The bottom line here is that adversity and problems are part of what you’ll need to be a successful business owner. You also have to dust yourself off and get back on the horse (sorry for the bad pun), no matter what. If he can’t accept Penny’s challenge, he should run, not walk away, as he’s not destined to become an entrepreneur.