There has been much debate over the years as to whether entrepreneurs are born or made. My own personal opinion is that it is a little of both. Some people just naturally take to entrepreneurship -- they see themselves as entrepreneurs, and cannot imagine any other kind of life. Although my business only has two employees, I am an entrepreneur of sorts (perhaps a low-level one) and I will do everything in my power to ensure that I never have to work for someone else ever again. I like being my own boss. To be honest, I work far harder for myself than I ever did for anyone else when I worked a regular job, but I don't mind it a bit.

Southwest Airlines' founder and chairman Herb Kelleher is an entrepreneur's entrepreneur. His airline is still one of few that still consistently makes a profit -- month after month, and year after year. Herb believes that much of the success of an entrepreneur can be attributed to having the right genes. According to Herb, there are six personal characteristics that successful entrepreneurs possess that can't be trained or taught to them:

1. A reasonable intelligence
2. Good health
3. Optimistic disposition
4. Lengthy attention span
5. Perseverance
6. A love of people

So, what if you don't share all the characteristics that Kelleher believes will make you a successful entrepreneur? Is all lost? Fortunately not. Herb also believes that there is a set of personal characteristics that successful entrepreneurs share that can taught -- and learned. These characteristics include:

1. Good listening skills
2. Ability to play passionate advocate
3. Broad knowledge and education
4. Sound judgement
5. Ability to separate the important things from the unimportant
6. Ability to set priorities and focus on goals
7. Pleasant scepticism

Truth be told, few successful entrepreneurs are likely to score 100% on all of these factors, and they don't need to to be successful. In many cases, entrepreneurs know that they need to hire smart people around them who have the characteristics that they lack.

However, if you looked at Kelleher's lists and don't recognize any of the characteristics in your own personality, there is still hope. According to a recent issue of Nature magazine, it may in the future be possible to develop a pill that will directly impact entrepreneurial behavior. If that indeed turns out to be the case, then maybe being born with entrepreneurial genes won't really matter.