"If you're going to show up, you might as well run the meeting." 
 

"If you're nervous, you're in the process of learning something."

 

These were just two of the pieces of advice from Jeff Taylor, the Bay State entrepreneur (and UMass graduate) who founded the billion dollar job search website Monster.com. He left Monster in 2005 to start a new project called Eons, a web site designed to cater to the millions of Americans aged 55 or older, and, in 2008, he started Tributes.com, a site for obituaries resources.

 

"We're here to think about possibilities," he said. "You have two choices: be insane or be an entrepreneur. When everyone thinks you're crazy and you still think you have a good idea, you're an entrepreneur," he added.  "Nervous excitement, getting the endorphins going, makes the ideas bigger." Taylor advised the Emerging Leaders on how to get traction for their ideas, using musicians as an example. Musicians are entrepreneurs, starting small, building momentum, adding more and more elements, he said, and, by the end of his talk, he had the entire audience on its feet, clapping rhythmically, waving arms, and, yes, dancing. His own career, he explained, has "gone in and around, up and down, not in a straight line.  It doesn't matter how you do it; you just have to do it." Perspective is important.  "The internet has been around for 5000 days. We have changed the world. What will happen in the next 5000 days?," he asked.  You have to keep your eye on the big picture - in Boston and in each of our lives. 

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