6 Lessons Entrepreneurs Can Learn from Oscar Winner Leonardo DiCaprio

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“Success comes not to those who do it, but who do it in a way better than others.”

Enter “Leonardo” in Google and the first two suggestions belong to Hollywood’s most illustrious actor, Leonardo “Leo” DiCaprio.

This year, after 27 years in Hollywood, six Oscar nominations, the baby-faced powerhouse finally won the Oscar — an award some believe teenage Leo should have picked up twenty-three years ago for “What’s Eating Gilbert Grape”?

We’ve penned this post to mark our respect for this incredible actor whose dedication, perseverance and resilience are an example for all.

Here are the 6 lessons every entrepreneur can learn from Oscar Winner Leonardo

DiCaprio:

#1. Always get better

After every miss of being awarded the Oscar, Leo worked harder and ended up working better than last time.

Lesson for Entrepreneurs: As said by Reid Hoffman, the co-founder of LinkedIn, the social network for professionals

“If you’re not ashamed of the first iteration of your product, you released too late”.

You must not stop with the first or even tenth iteration of your product and call it done. The word done doesn’t exist in an entrepreneur’s life. You go to sleep and you come back tomorrow, eager to improve on what you build yesterday. Getting better is the only road to success.

#2. Overnight success is a myth

Most of us would’ve seen Leo for the first time in Titanic. Although he’d been acting before the blockbuster that was the first time he got noticed by masses. From Titanic (1997) till the Revenant (2016), he kept improving his acting skills with each movie.

Entrepreneurial take :

As an entrepreneur, life will not be a bed of flowers. You’ll face more failures than success, life is a rewarding experience, each day a new battle has to be won. Today’s heroes were strugglers yesterday. Hard work and persistence are the traits that separate entrepreneurs from the other people.

#3. Be different

Although the fresh faced features, Leo could have easily become the Rom-Com actor like many others. But he did not let his looks stereotype him, from the age of 18 he started experimenting his acting styles in gritty plays like “This Boy’s Life”.

Lesson for Entrepreneurs: Rather than copying other products or company culture, build something 10X times different than your competitors. Else you’ll be one among the thousands.

#4. Do the best for your audience

Leonardo’s movies are a visual treat for his viewers. He makes movies for his audience, winning the Academy Awards is secondary. He never ceases to thank his fans and gives them cinematography masterpieces year after year.

Lessons for Entrepreneurs:For you – An entrepreneur’s task is to make his users happy and their life easier. Raising funds or minting money should not be the superior motive. Build an outstanding product and users will use, build a substandard product and no-one will bother using it.

#5. Explore new horizons

If you were in Leo’s place and if the director told you that the film would be done in natural light, what’d you think? In this age where (Computer-generated imagery graphics) is way of life in Hollywood where one can’t distinguish special effects from reality who’d go this far? Well, Leonardo did and that got him the Oscar.

Entrepreneurial tip:

Ge out of your comfort zone, that’s where you explore your hidden talents. Who’d have dreamt in 2005 that Facebook would become such an indispensable tool for mankind?

#6. Smile and never give up

It took 23 years and 6 nominations (5 as an actor, 1 as a producer) for Leo to win his Oscar. Each movie with acting skills better than the last ones, his resilience and persistence indeed remarkable.

Pro tip for entrepreneurs: Entrepreneurship is like a rollercoaster ride, filled with ups and downs. You’ll end up asking if the journey is worth it! But then every single effort, every single day will be rewarding. Smile and take up the challenges. Only after dawn comes the daylight.

Essentially, have fun in whatever you do. In Leo’s words, “if you can do what you do best, and be happy, you are further along in life than most people.”

Take it easy and shine; one day the spotlight will be on you!

This post is originally appeared here.

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