Thursday, December 31, 2009

My First 365 Days as an Entrepreneur

Today, i mark my 365th day as an entrepreneur. When i started out, i decided to keep have an offline service company and then some online businesses. I also demystified some fantasies like getting a windfall quickly.

The vision I had was to build Assets that would have life of their own revolving around a business system independent of me.

Right now, the businesses are up and growing but they cannot live without me yet. Besides, the revenues of 2009 mostly went into the businesses. There were times I felt that things were moving too slowly. There was even a time between July and September when the businesses literally froze because of a family tragedy.

Right now things are on the move again but as you read earlier, I have been laying foundations that I can monetize in 2010.

I learnt a lot in 2009 also. Too much to blog about without wasting your time.

As per my online businesses, The challenge of a Nigerian Internet Entrepreneur is so great but there are ways around it if you persistent.

My most surprising lesson however was that you do not need to know anything about anything to run a business as long as you have a clear vision of the end goal, a laser sharp focus and the persistence to see your dreams come to pass. Once these three seed are sown in your heart, you just nourish them and have the patience to see the blossom and yield fruits.

Also, I am leaving thee dream of being in "CHARGE" of my life - oh what a pleasure to decide you want to make money just wearing boxer shorts and actually do it. I sometimes wonder why I ever took up a job and diverted briefly from my life long dream of creating my own empire the way I have seen it within.

Sometimes I really pity employees without a vision and guts to quit their lousy jobs because no employer will pay as much as you're worth. It is an unwritten, unspoken rule.

And with the current global issues, it is surprising that they still are hopelessly cringing to their jobs hoping that somehow they will be bypassed by the job-loss axeman.

Anyway, I'd have set my hands on the entrepreneurship plough and there is no looking back. I have two options to succeed or to succeed so either way I win.

There is no greater job security than that of a supplier of needs and wants.

As we step into the new year, I pray that all your dreams come to pass.

See you next year.

Olusegun a.k.a Segedoo

QUOTE OF THE POST
"Happy New Year In Advance"

My First 365 Days as an Entrepreneur

Today, i mark my 365th day as an entrepreneur. When i started out, i decided to keep have an offline service company and then some online businesses. I also demystified some fantasies like getting a windfall quickly.

The vision I had was to build Assets that would have life of their own revolving around a business system independent of me.

Right now, the businesses are up and growing but they cannot live without me yet. Besides, the revenues of 2009 mostly went into the businesses. There were times I felt that things were moving too slowly. There was even a time between July and September when the businesses literally froze because of a family tragedy.

Right now things are on the move again but as you read earlier, I have been laying foundations that I can monetize in 2010.

I learnt a lot in 2009 also. Too much to blog about without wasting your time.

As per my online businesses, The challenge of a Nigerian Internet Entrepreneur is so great but there are ways around it if you persistent.

My most surprising lesson however was that you do not need to know anything about anything to run a business as long as you have a clear vision of the end goal, a laser sharp focus and the persistence to see your dreams come to pass. Once these three seed are sown in your heart, you just nourish them and have the patience to see the blossom and yield fruits.


Friday, December 11, 2009

Is Entrepreneurship Risky 2?


In my last post i talked about my experience. Now, i want to be more comparative in my analysis of The fact that employment is by far riskier than entrepreneurship.

Case study: A Pyramid






The human society has always taken the shape of a pyramid because 95% of us humans do not take initiative - something entrepreneurship is all about. We prefer to be led than take on the responsibility of a leader. We are far too selfish to share of ourselves or far to afraid to lead by example of what we believe. In turn giving a blank cheque to all the corrupt guys to campaign for offices they do not deserve. we would rather vote for the best of the worst since those of us that can genuinely lead have decide to take cover in out little homes.

We want a President, a King , a Governor, a Representative, a Class captain, anyone as long as it is not us to take the role of caring for all. We do not like stressing ourselves - Generally. Of course there have been a few exceptions - Jesus Christ, Moses, Mahatma Gandhi, Nelson Mandela and others but they have always been countable.

Because we prefer to choose one " Key leader" and do not want to be him or her, we give room for whoever to take the office. Why do we not think of starting our own group of people with shared values and take on the Status Quo?

Enter: EMPLOYMENT

The Trend had always been go to school, finish with good grades and get a safe secure job laments R.Kiyosaki - a true Financial prophet and entrepreneur.

So, we leave college or university and hustle to get a "good job" and then we settle down at it. Forgetting that a we humans love pyramids - meaning the larger percentage of us will be mediocre at best.

I wonder why a lot of employees just feel comfortable with the order of things set by an elite group of guys usually less than 20 called MANAGEMENT! They get so absorbed into the small picture these guys paint for them and settle down into running with another's vision.

I was an employee for a year and a half so i was among you if for any reason you might be reading this and getting angry. The truth is bitter they say. The truth is better i say.

The only time the employee get unsettled is when there is a promotion coming up or worse when there are rumors of downsizing i.e impending sack for some few.

Why don't employees realize that the more you earn, the more you are expected to do to justify your earnings by getting more results and the spiral keeps growing.

Listen:

No employer would ever pay you more than you are worth.
No employer would ever pay you exactly what you
EVERY EMPLOYER PAYS YOU LESS THAN YOU ARE WORTH!

But most employees do not mind or maybe they just overlook it and keep labouring behind their cubicles.

Don't you have a dreams? When will NOW be the best time to start chasing your dreams?

DECIDE TO BE TRUE TO YOU. PLAN TO STEP OUT. YOU ARE NOT INCOMPETENT!!





You know what? The risks are similar but the rewards of entrepreneurship are a billion times more. Besides, you get to follow your inner leading, call the shots, delegate responsibilities, manage people, meet more people and get paid for it.

When i was a marketer all suited up, chasing accounts all over the city of Lagos, Nigeria with my company driver, i never got as much respect as when dressed not has formal but as the CEO of my own business and exchanging ideas with much more accomplished entrepreneurs!


Employees like i said expect the company to take care of them - their Pensions, group life insurance, health, IRA or Roth IRA contibutions or 401ks etc.

They generally prefer to be financially unintelligent about these things because they do not seek to know since The Company will take care of them.

Wake up Folks and start LIVING. There are childhood dreams you have buried to die. But guess what? DReams do not die, the haunt you though.

Every time you see someone else doing what you have always wanted to do, that's you dream haunting you.

The greatest risk in the world is not even attempting to do what you have been naturally configured by God the Creator to do.

Everyone is a genius but only less than 5% of us all know that. So, we abandon the raw genius in us for the refined one that someone else has devoted decades to perfect.

We would rather contribute to something others have built rather than use their accomplishments to inspire us into creating our own.

We are Creators remember? So why aren't we creating - the song, the painting, the invention, the business, the home???

When you do not have a stream of income coming from any organization on a monthly basis, you are FORCED to dig deep within, and find how to meet needs of people around you. In the process, you grow and learn the relevant skills you need to multiply your services and run your business without you being physically present. You begin to value every dime and put it to the best use. You consult your spirit more and listen to your intuition.

You become a whole man or woman who does not depend on anything on the outside but from within brings together external resources to create genuine value, earn well in time and employ EMPLOYEES!

If you take on look at a pyramid, you would see that it has just on point. Only one person can head an organization for a period of time. If that is the case, and competition is so bad, why don't you step up to the creative realm?
It is by design that most employees never get beyond middle management. Believe me i know or how else would power be centralized in the hand of the top 5%?

Management has grown smarter too. so rather than create a tight pyramid, they widen the based to accommodate more employees by growing organically or by Mergers and Acquisitions. They then make you a little king of a small branch or subsidiary just to create the illusion that you are progressing too when in essence, they have duplicated the same thing across board.

To keep you ever dependent on them, they expect a certain level of panache from you and are willing to finance this lifestyle.

Bottomline: You are hooked, stressed out, unfulfilled and then asked to leave.

Along the line, you would have become a stranger to your wife, missed growing up with your kids, become heavily indebted and wishing you had more time to do those things... to live those dreams.

You would wake up and see how far th guys that saw the light have come in the same 15 years you have spent "labouring in the house of strangers" and regret that you never had the guts to follow you inner guide.


Friend If you are so crazy about being a part the pyramid? And we all are - entrepreneurs and employees. Why don't you be a part of one where you can at least be at the top?

The difference between an employee and an entrepreneur? The part of the pyramid where they start from. The employee starts from the bottom and go up against gravity all the way, fighting guys, trampling on subordinates to transfer aggression from superiors and developing ulcers. The entrepreneur on the other hand starts from the peak on the pyramid even though it may have no base yet but just that makes all the difference.


Now, i might have sounded a little hash but extreme. I know you are a rational thinker who makes his or her own decisions. I'm do not suggest you quit you job. Rather, spend the rest of the year metamorphosing into an entrepreneur while in the skin of an employee.


To your success and nothing else,

Segedoo


QUOTE OF THE POST
"We were all entrepreneurs as kids; What then happened?" - Olusegun Adedokun

Friday, December 4, 2009

Is Entrepreneurship Risky?

In the next 27 days, i will be celebrating 365 days a.k.a 1 year of being an entrepreneur! I was working with a major banking group in Nigeria, my home country up until December 31, 2008.

I had to leave. Prior to this i had disconnected totally from my job and felt like a thief whenever i got paid a salary. So what did i do? well, you guessed it already - I RESIGNED!

Don't get me wrong - where i worked was a great place full of young people and without being proud, i was one of my beautiful CEO's favorites. Besides, I was about to be promoted, a pay rise was on the way and i was also to be paid "upfront"i.e. a lump some of money on the first working day of the year to take care of my rent and some other necessary bills - but i left.

I remember the HR Head saying to take my resignation letter back and resign again in 3 months with all the perks but NO, I just did not want money to lure me into a line of work i hated. All my life i had always done things that i connected with from Stamp Collection to Learning How to Paint to Traditional Martial Arts.

I woke up on January1, 2009 feeling weird but i quickly got over it (i later realized it was because it was a holiday). A day or two later, the reality of joblessness set in when i was left home alone like Macaulay Caulkin! Then i began serious soul searching to figure out how to earn a living. 2months later, I gave out a really large chunk of my severance pay - big enough to make me scared for day non-stop but i now realize it was a liberation from slavery to money.

Gradually over the year, things began to work out and i met my business partner effortlessly. Today, i run a webdesign and development company with him, a comic company with another guy and seminar company with both of them as stakeholders.

A lot of things have come effortlessly into my life by providence. I spent a lot of time creating them in my mind and just watching and waiting for them to show up. Once they did, I stopped waiting and took action in possessing them.

There were time i was discouraged but i just kept going. I also learnt how to earn on autopilot. So while i sleep, i have blogs working hard for me.

I invested in several well researched offerings before bringing out my CC to pay for anything. I am a very shrewd guy and with what i have learnt about patience in business, i can only wait for things to come to me.

2009 has a year of learning and more learning; a year of laying foundations for an internet business empire both in Nigeria and Online as a whole.

As i am writing this, i have just purchase my 11th domain and I totally love the feeling.

I'd be a liar to say that it has been fun all the way. There have been times when i emptied my whole account into a project this year not being totally sure of the outcome but then , who is 100% of the time?

All i know is tat i won't be on my death bed and be regretting that i did not do something i totally wanted to do or something that would benefit mankind and it is an entrepreneurial spirit that makes one do that.

For me PROFIT is NOT the motive, Neither is it my PASSION.

Rather it is a healthy marriage of PROFIT & PASSION. It is so powerful.

Until my next post, God bless.


QUOTE OF THE POST
"You either live your life or live someone else's idea of it"- Segedoo

Friday, November 20, 2009

Thoughts Become Things

Thoughts become things over time.

The sum of all our thoughts are who we are. Of course this is a little more complicated than it sounds as i have had all sorts of thoughts at different times in my life - from the good to the bad to the downright ugly. From the sweet to the evil to the fantasy-filled daydreams.

So, it will be more correct to sat that we are products of our most dominating thoughts.

Anyway, the main thing is to keep the main thing the main thing as Bob Proctor says.

And the main thing here now is not to make sure you always monitor your thoughts as that would drive you mad and worthless but make efforts to focus on thoughts that you desire to bring to fruition.

As a man thinketh in his heart so is he.

But then thinketh there refere to the most predominating thought that we have.

Our job is not to control our thoughts but to make sure we focus on the ones that will get us to our the pinnacle of our aspirations.

We cannot think more than a thought per time so this should make our jobs easier.

For now, let's think on these few points

QUOTE OF THE POST
"Think and it shall be so unto you" - segedoo

Sunday, October 25, 2009

Information Paralysis2

Hi, I haven't blogged in almost a month!! This is because I have been on a Niche retreat.

By that I mean I have been learning all I can about building niche websites and monetizing them, the softwares i would need and the research process involved in this type of business.

I had a great time because I naturally, love to research. I dug into information from the early 2000's till date. I dissected the old business model used as well as the new and compared them to see the difference. My findings revealed that the fundamentals have not changed a bit but the methodology has evolved with time, technology and the sophistication of the modern day internet user.

No Qualms.

I also did a lot of listening to interviews from some of my "mentors" and gleaned a lot from guys who are still making a lot of money from this online business model till date - especailly their mistakes and what they have been doing right.

One thing I learnt about running any online business, actually two things are:

1. You must research - your niche market, the demand, the supply, cost involved, competition, how need to make to run a profitable business and give them what they want.

2. You must test your findings in dollar numbers as well as your approach and test and tweak and test and tweak till you finally get the right way to do things

and yes a major third lesson is:

3. You must automate

Most importantly of all, you must follow the market, which is the foundation delving into all the three steps listed above in the first place.

All other things are the new ways of doing stuff which was different from one "guru" to another. This part was actually where I realized that the information I had immersed myself in was beginning to paralyse my mind.

I deduced that it's all about learning the ropes and then finding out what works best for you.


For now, I have laid out my own tactics all the while abiding by the basic tenets of niche marketing. I'm in the process of taking action now and putting into practise all that i have studied.

I know I will do well but I will start with the very simple model I learnt from an internet niche marketer which doesn't confuse me in any way.


When I made this decision, I was already feeling like an information junkie and a "guru" prostitute or as the Americans will say hooker.

Great to be back to post on this blog. I will definitely update you folks about my progress. For now, ciao.


QUOTE OF THE POST
"Know how thongs work and then find your own way" - Segedoo

Monday, September 28, 2009

When Things go Wrong


You have planned everything well. Deadlines have been set; contracts signed. All that's left is just to begin the execution when something suddenly goes wrong - terriby wrong. An event totally unforseen occurs leaving you spellbound and your jaws
drop for the wrong reason.

For what looks like a weird blend of the moment and eternity in , you seem not to know what to do.

The go-getter/the man-in-charge within seems to be confused.

You realize that maybe you not REALLY in charge afterall. You see how vulnerable you truly are.

"How could i not have even had an inkling of the possibility of this happening? Things don't just happen; You get some signal - a thought or feeling you can't explain, a sign - any sign - of some sort" you lament. Well, true but only if you are sensitive enough to pick up the signals.

Life has a way of letting us know we're not all in all.

WHAT TO DO
When you have done everything on yur part diligently and things still go way of out your control, don't give up. Be humble enough to accept what you cannot change and acknowledge that not everything is in your control. I know it's somewhat humiliating but ego has got to give way. When times when you are totally helpless occur, it's a period submit to the supreme being - GOD who reigns in the affairs of men. Nothing lies hidden before him.

Then, be quiet. Quietness is a form of worship - an acknowledgement of your vulnerability and a confident yearning for superior intelligence to manifest. It is most challenging to do but this is the way out.

If you can bring your disturbed soul into a place of stillness, you open up and create an opportunity for the supreme genius to
manifest through you.

Man's biggest mistake is the subtle or outright arrogant belief that he is in charge of his life. This is because he can choose
what he wants to be.

HOW THINGS ARE
None of us is fully in Charge. We are only partly are. In fact to a lesser extent than we can imagine. Our desires are dependent on a myriad of factors that are beyond the spheres of our control. A times, we just have to make the most of the cards we have been dealt. Besides, we make mistakes and others make decisions that affect us positvely and otherwise.
But aren't the natural gifts that we have been blessed with not the sole bases on which this choice is made?

We didn't choose those gifts they were given to us without our consent. So what makes us think we're in charge? Ours is to
develop/perfect them and use them diligently and in the process earn, live a good life and make the world a much better place for others too.

ABOUT LIFE
Life is about juggling all our experiences together and still coming out tops - much better, much wiser, much humbler.
Life is a school - a school of hard knocks. You are only in charge when you realize that you are not in charge. You become
a free person - not subject to any form bondage from anything you own or do not own especially the mundane thing we so
much value in this generation.

A FREE MAN
A free man is a responsible man. Freedom means the ability to control our whims and desires and not doing whatever you like
whenever you like like slaves of our passions. It means being reponsible enough to evaluate choices and make the ones that are most beneficial to all concerned.

So, what ever card life has dealt you, cease to complain and make the most of it. Ask for guidance from God and be quiet enough to listen to His instructions.

Think of blind man with a trusted friend committed to leading him about.

QUOTE OF THE POST
" The Lord is my shepard, i shall not want" - King David in Psalms 23:1

When Things go Wrong


You have planned everything well. Deadlines have been set; contracts signed. All that's left is just to begin the execution when something suddenly goes wrong - terriby wrong. An event totally unforseen occurs leaving you spellbound and your jaws
drop for the wrong reason.

For what looks like a weird blend of the moment and eternity in , you seem not to know what to do.

The go-getter/the man-in-charge within seems to be confused.

You realize that maybe you not REALLY in charge afterall. You see how vulnerable you truly are.

"How could i not have even had an inkling of the possibility of this happening? Things don't just happen; You get some signal - a thought or feeling you can't explain, a sign - any sign - of some sort" you lament. Well, true but only if you are sensitive enough to pick up the signals.

Life has a way of letting us know we're not all in all.

WHAT TO DO
When you have done everything on yur part diligently and things still go way of out your control, don't give up. Be humble enough to accept what you cannot change and acknowledge that not everything is in your control. I know it's somewhat humiliating but ego has got to give way. When times when you are totally helpless occur, it's a period submit to the supreme being - GOD who reigns in the affairs of men. Nothing lies hidden before him.

Then, be quiet. Quietness is a form of worship - an acknowledgement of your vulnerability and a confident yearning for superior intelligence to manifest. It is most challenging to do but this is the way out.

If you can bring your disturbed soul into a place of stillness, you open up and create an opportunity for the supreme genius to
manifest through you.

Man's biggest mistake is the subtle or outright arrogant belief that he is in charge of his life. This is because he can choose
what he wants to be.

HOW THINGS ARE
None of us is fully in Charge. We are only partly are. In fact to a lesser extent than we can imagine. Our desires are dependent on a myriad of factors that are beyond the spheres of our control. A times, we just have to make the most of the cards we have been dealt. Besides, we make mistakes and others make decisions that affect us positvely and otherwise.
But aren't the natural gifts that we have been blessed with not the sole bases on which this choice is made?

We didn't choose those gifts they were given to us without our consent. So what makes us think we're in charge? Ours is to
develop/perfect them and use them diligently and in the process earn, live a good life and make the world a much better place for others too.

ABOUT LIFE
Life is about juggling all our experiences together and still coming out tops - much better, much wiser, much humbler.
Life is a school - a school of hard knocks. You are only in charge when you realize that you are not in charge. You become
a free person - not subject to any form bondage from anything you own or do not own especially the mundane thing we so
much value in this generation.

A FREE MAN
A free man is a responsible man. Freedom means the ability to control our whims and desires and not doing whatever you like
whenever you like like slaves of our passions. It means being reponsible enough to evaluate choices and make the ones that are most beneficial to all concerned.

So, what ever card life has dealt you, cease to complain and make the most of it. Ask for guidance from God and be quiet enough to listen to His instructions.

Think of blind man with a trusted friend committed to leading him about.

QUOTE OF THE POST
" The Lord is my shepard, i shall not want" - King David in Psalms 23:1

Thursday, September 24, 2009

DIE EMPTY

GENIUS INSIDE
There is a measure of raw genius in everyone put
there by our Creator. This genius is unique to everyone
and might be similar in some people but never the
same.

LIKE GOLD
Think of gold refreshly mined - dirty, unrefined, of
no visible aesthetic beauty by valuable none the less.
Just like God created the elements from which he formed
the gold in the earth, so also he has created elements
from which our raw genius was formed.

And just as Gold and other treasures have always been
in the earth, Your genius has always been in you.

EUREKA
Your Genius is meant to be uncovered, developed and
manifested.
Discovering them takes nothing more than a commitment
to. Like miners decide to explore deep into the earth,
You must decide to find out what you suspect lies deep
within you.
Some discover theirs early; others do much later.

There have always been signs that they are there.
Now, is time to pay more attention to those these
and TAKE ACTION and unearth them.

It's not so much when you find out what yours is but
more of what you do once it has been discovered.
The best gift anyone can give to God and to Humanity
is to make the most of themselves and then give back
the part of the proceeds accumulated in the process.

THE RICHEST PLACE ON EARTH
Sadly, there are others who never discover theirs in their
lifetimes. This are the ones that have contributed to
making the graveyard the richest place in the world.
The Good news is that we don't have to continue enriching
that "yard". Sometimes i wish we could somehow harness
the intangible resources buried with their owners there
- the books unwritten, the melodies never created, the
inventions uncreated - the list is endless.

STUDENTS OF WITHIN
"Mining" your genius is a process of listening to
your intuition. This is a guide God created within
you. Alot of us are too busy on the outside to sit
still and listen to our inner longings. There ia a need
for inner awareness in us humans as a race.
We need to listen more to our intuition and learrn to
trust and follow its leading. If you're not too sure,
you can test it to find out. A part of learning to trust
your intuition is to be willing to do some conscious
trial and error. Conscious in that when you get a
thought or suggestion you don't think is logical, be
sensitive and notice to how you feel at the time, give
it the benefit of the doubt and follow its leading and
see what happens. Usually, you find that the illogical
suggestion is usually some kind of lifesaver; preventing
some trouble, avoiding some danger, making a crucial
decicion you won't have made otherwise, the list goes
on.

THE WAY FORWARD
The way forward is ALWAYS FROM INSIDE OUT.
Activities, expectations and pressures from outside
should not be allowed to influence or deter us from
following the pointers to our destinys and making
decisions that are in line with their realization.
Once our intuition is allowed to be the core around
which all activities are carried out, all expectations
and pressures can now be used to fuel their
manifestation.

THE JOURNEY
Dying empty is a journey - a journey about the
process of discovering all your gifts and geniuses,
mining (developing/refining) them, thus making them
valuable to you and others, earning and accumulating
wealth in the process and then using the wealth to
replicate this process in others and exiting the stage.

QUOTE OF THE POST
"Fill up the world, Die Empty" - Olusegun Adedokun

Thursday, September 17, 2009

Lesson from a Rags-to-Riches Billionaire


These are some lessons i learnt from America’s rags-to-riches billionaire Bill Bartmann in his "Steps to achieve any goal".

Bill went from staunch poverty to being a gangster to being paralysed to finding purpose,

marrying the girl of his dreams and becoming a billionaire on Forbes 1000 list.

I have been so inspired that i have listened to him over twenty times in 2 days.


POINT 1

Make sure your goal is YOUR GOAL - if what you are doing right now is not what you want to do, and then you will never succeed.

No matter how hard you try. What do you really want? Why are you after it? Why it is important to you and what do you really want to achieve?

Anything you do that is genuinely what you want to do is ABSOLUTELY backed up GOD - the DIVINE SOURCE OF ALL THINGS. This is because you were created in his image - after HIS Likeness


POINT 2

Don't try, strive, and attempt to achieve your goals. Most people don't achieve the goals they set. Replace Goals with the word Promise. This changes your mindset. It removes the block in your brain. The change in semantics also change the way you look at things, you want to keep your promise, you feel you can. It removes every thought of struggling to get things done.

POINT 3

Be clear about your promise. Clarity of your promise makes it easier to achieve. Ambiguity is in a way no focus


POINT 4

Identify your personal motivator. It can be negative or positive. When you have something that would keep you on fire and drive your passion, you will achieve any dream. We are either trying to move towards pleasure or away from pain. All things work together for your good

Identify the thing that will motivate you the most - for family, friends or the promise of a better life or even if is to show someone that doesn't believe you can. Use positive or negative motivation to get you to achieve your promise.


POINT 5

Create a promise plan - the equivalent of a business plan for your promise answering the questions:

  • What?
  • When?
  • Who?
  • Where?
  • How?


POINT 6

Review plans regularly - 20 minutes a day making sure you sit down and review the 5 questions. See if anything new has surfaced or changed

Your brain begins to update and fine tune your promise. Find out new ways to remind yourself of the promise.

Carry a pocket promise - a summary of your promise


QUOTE OF THE POST

"The average man is a conformist, accepting miseries and disasters with the stoicism of a cow standing in the rain."

—COLIN WILSON, British author of The Outsider; New Existentialist