How do I know if I'm actually cut out for entrepreneurship or just romanticizing it?

I've seen many people drawn to entrepreneurship for the wrong reasons—freedom, status, escape. But the real question isn't whether you're 'cut out' for it in some abstract way. It's whether you can sit with discomfort, ambiguity, and failure without collapsing. Entrepreneurship demands you know yourself: your genuine tolerances, your actual risk capacity, what energizes versus depletes you. Start by noticing: when you imagine running your own business, are you excited about the *work itself*, or the *idea* of yourself doing it? That distinction matters profoundly. I'd encourage you to test your assumptions through small experiments—not grand launches. Run a pilot, take on a client, build a prototype. Watch how you actually respond to setbacks, to slow progress, to being fully responsible for outcomes. Your emotional resilience and self-awareness matter far more than talent alone. The romantic version fades quickly; what remains is the relationship between you and the daily reality of your choice. That's what you need to understand first.