I was so blown away by this article this morning that I thought I'd share: http://www.fastcompany.com/1826976/the-dirty-little-secret-of-overnight-successes
I have a million thoughts on this, but I have two perspectives on this:
To the business leaders: I think we see fellow business leaders and think their lives are much easier, less complicated, more perfect then ours. When in truth, success isn't easy because if it was everyone would do it. It's comforting to EXPECT that there are many twists and turns to your journey in business. Like a stock market over time, it's never a straight line and such is life in business. It was a relief to know that this is the norm, and for fellow entrepreneurs to know and EXPECT that success isn't a straight line. All you can do is worry about the things that are in your control and make the best decisions that puts the business in the best possible position and accept the environmental factors for which you have no control and move on. Most successful entrepreneurs that I know are also their own worst critics. We hyper-analyze everything we have done, are about to do and think of 100 different and better ways we should or could have done it. That's just in our DNA. But this image and article tells us to expect that the universe will not bend to your will every time and you won't make all the right decisions every time either. But, over time when you look back you'll see bumps in the road, but a blurry line, to success. I love this truth.
To the public: To those who think that people who drive BWM's, Audi's, Mercedes are just the lucky ones or the "preferred". To those who think these lucky people were given a golden opportunity or were just dealt a better hand. To those who believe that there should be some form of equalization of success and a sharing of wealth. This article may enlighten you to the truths of pitfalls, hazards and stress that comes with risking it all. Sure, over time if cards are played right, there is much less risk in business, but I can promise you that there's a more then good chance even Sobeys and Irving had many close calls that could have tanked their business at some points in their life cycle. The public needs to know that without risk-takers, our economy would cease to exist. Jobs are created on the backs of those brave (or crazy) enough to pursue and idea with everything they have. I read the comments on the article in the Herald last week about Rob Normandeau starting Seafort Capital with the Sobeys and McCains and I was extremely angry at the sentiment and ignorance of the general public about this exciting announcement. Perhaps if they shadowed an entrepreneur for a month they would happily return to their jobs with an appreciation for what it takes day in and out to run a successful business. Funny how the harder one works, the "luckier" they are.
