I was at a wedding last August. Most of the people I knew there were from high school. I had a pretty good time catching up with everyone, but it was pretty standard: people talked about their jobs, the good and bad. I was happy to hear way more good news from people than bad.

Later in the evening, I ran into one friend and met his wife. She mentioned to me that she had been laid off from her job a few months before; she wasn't the first person that evening who had told me that. But as I was offering her my consolation nod, she added, "But right now, I'm using the extra time to start my own business."

I got really excited by this. After several hours of polite, idle chatter, I was delighted to have found someone who seemed to have the drive and initiative to try to make her own path and carve out a path for herself. I told her flat out that I thought it was terrific that she was taking the risks, and I spewed all of the encouragement I could at her. It probably came across as disingenuous...but I really couldn't help it.

I'm always interested where the entrepreneurial spark comes when I see it in people. In my experience, it certainly doesn't seem like a product of the education system--public or private. It's not something that's suggested or encouraged as a potential career path as a matter of course. In our society, it's perceived as a subversive route to take in life.

The gumption to go out and create a business is a rare trait. It doesn't need a devil's advocate or a reality check. It needs encouragement.