Have You Inherited “Entrepreneurial DNA?”
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Nine questions to ask yourself if you are considering entrepreneurship. Research suggests your drive may be in your genes!
You’re stopped at a red light, dreading the thought of work. It’s not that you don’t like customer service. It’s a decent job with perks. You’re grateful for the job security, but suddenly your mind flashes to the dynamic 2D graphic animation you’re creating at night for a fan-driven entertainment site.
Your pulse quickens as you think about the hot, new animated web series you want to develop. You know it will be a hit! The traffic light turns green. Your excitement ebbs as reality sets in, and you arrive at your good ol’ nine-to-five.
What happened in the above anecdote? Well, in less than 60 seconds, you cycled through two competing sets of what some researchers call emotional DNA. One pattern, that may be inherited from your ancestors, is telling you, “Keep your head down, don’t make waves and stay safe.” The other pattern, anchored in your potential future, is urging, “Go for your dreams!”
How Epigenetics and Emotional DNA Influence Us
Epigenetics is the study of how our environment and our choices can trigger changes in how our genes are “read” and thus expressed. These influences do not change the genes themselves, rather they stimulate thoughts, emotions, and behaviors that can affect family members for generations.
This new-ish science shows that we not only may inherit physical DNA from our ancestors, but we also may inherit their thoughts, feelings, and action patterns.
For example, research conducted with children and grandchildren of Holocaust survivors suggests a link between trauma and its expression in subsequent generations because descendents of survivors exhibited greater anxiety and inhibited relational styles under stress than children in the control groups.
Previously, researchers attributed this kind of vulnerability to stress of environmental factors such as child-raising techniques. However, researchers are now exploring how behaviors — including trauma-related behaviors like higher anxiety, lower self-esteem, and difficulty relating to others — may be epigenetically inherited. I call this dynamic inheritance your emotional DNA.
Looking through a systemic lens, I see that many ancestral emotional DNA patterns seem to repeat in my clients, affecting all areas of their lives — relationships, finances, leadership, health, and even entrepreneurship.
For instance, I recently had one young man come to me who felt totally stuck in his career. Sean (not his real name) seemed a conservative guy, working as a branch manager for the same national bank his father still worked for in another city.
But he described himself as “bored out of his mind.” A musician at heart, his dream was to open a recording studio. Yet every time he made a move in that direction, he kept hearing his father’s voice in his head saying, “Dreams are for dreamers. Keep your feet on the ground and work in an industry you can rely on.”
When I asked Sean about his father’s father, he said his grandfather had lost the family fortune accrued by his father, a man who had created an enormously successful touring circus company that was the talk of Europe — it seems — in the early 20th century.
As he spoke about his ancestry, Sean was immediately struck by the apparent link between his grandfather’s loss, his own father’s fear, and his own conservative life. In addition, he noticed how his personal dreams mirrored his great-grandfather’s entrepreneurial tendencies.
Sometimes family patterns can skip a generation or two — including the pattern of entrepreneurship. Sean’s great-grandfather was naturally entrepreneurial and he accrued a fortune. In his heart, Sean was entrepreneurial like his great-grandfather.
However, his adventurous spirit seemed to be at odds with the more conservative, fear-based emotional DNA patterns his father and grandfather may have exhibited. This was why Sean felt so stuck. Once he understood all the potentially inherited patterns driving his conflict, Sean was able to make an informed decision about how he wanted to live his life. As it turns out, it wasn’t a life based in fear of loss, but rather a life filled with the excitement of independent creation — and music.
Do You Have Entrepreneurial DNA?
Do any of the patterns listed below ring true for you?
I have the ability to think outside the box.
I experience a drive to want more.
I see opportunity where others see potential disaster.
I have a sense of adventure and an appetite for life.
I know there’s more to life, and am determined to manifest it.
Forget nine-to-five, I’ll work however long it takes to make my dreams come true.
I enjoy working on my own.
I am open to challenging information that expands my horizons.
My parents went for a dream and never completed it. Now, I will.
If some of these statements sound like you, then you may have inherited your entrepreneurial drive. Who do you know in your family that has an adventurous spirit? A parent? Grandparent? Further back?
And don’t worry if nobody in your family comes to mind. Sometimes we are the changemakers, and are the ones who are jolted from the norm by an inner prompt or external event to start a whole new pattern.
If you’ve discovered that an entrepreneurial heart beats in your chest, what are you going to do about it? Is there a business you’ve always envisioned? An artistic project you want to start? Do you have a desire to travel the world? Jot down your ideas. Don’t self-censor. Be playful and go for it.
How to Deal With the Voices in Your Head
If you are honest, bold, and have written down your truest dreams, you might have a few internal “voices” showing up. If they’re encouraging voices, lucky you! Many of us have other kinds of voices in our heads — for example, the naysayers who love to burst our bubble.
If a bunch of stuff comes up about your dream being silly or unrealistic, or you start hearing a litany of reasons your dream can’t happen, here’s the most important thing to realize: The discouraging voices in your head may well have originated as warnings from your lineage to avoid “wasting your time on unrealistic goals” due to a significant family event. (Such as Sean’s grandfather losing the family fortune.)
Still confused? Try this journaling exercise.
Write down all the negative statements. Now, stop and reflect.
Where have you heard these words before?
Whose voice are you hearing?
Whose negativity are you expressing? (It can be more than one person.)
Write down any names that pop up. Mom? Dad? Aunt Harriet? Maybe it’s someone outside the family — a family friend, a neighbor, a teacher, a respected religious leader.
Try not to react or judge, and let the information flow.
Every voice has a story. Aunt Harriet doesn’t mean to be a killjoy. Maybe her entrepreneurial venture was a disaster and she doesn’t want that for you — or maybe it was her mother’s disaster. The point is, once you identify the source of negativity, you can stop believing it’s your truth.
Thank whoever in your family shared their emotions and experiences. Acknowledge them and say, “Thank you. It is partly because of you that I’m going for my dream. Thanks for the wisdom, and I can do it differently. I am free to create my dream the way I want it.”
And if you don’t know your family history or if you are adopted, don’t worry. Even if you can’t pin a name to a negative voice or a fear pattern doesn’t mean you can’t thank that nameless, faceless person in your lineage for trying to protect you. They’re still there. And don’t forget the ones who did create success. They are part of your heritage to celebrate as well.
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When you pay attention to tendencies in your lineage, you are no longer flying blind. Once ancestral patterns are acknowledged, they have served their purpose. Now you can freely turn your face toward a new horizon and go for it.
Editor’s note: Before starting on an entrepreneurial journey, ensure you have the financial wherewithal, and a plan. While entrepreneurship can be exciting — it’s equally important to remember what bills you need to pay each month. SheVentures supports entrepreneurship, and in our resources section our list of angel and venture capital, is one place to start your search.
