A Fork In The Road
Jun 3 2008
This is a philosophical post at best and a rambling, forky post at its not-so-best. Everyone’s life is filled with predictable stuff and non-predictable stuff. And it seems like the life of an entrepreneur has more unpredictability than most.
Entrepreneurs often have to create a path where none existed before so the chances of seeing beautiful and amazing things as well as the chance of staring at the face of a lioness with her jaws open wide in a snarl about to pounce on you are higher than say going to work at a “predictable” day job.
Of course predictable day jobs are also subject to stress, crazy bosses, insane co-workers, and layoffs, but it’s not your company that you might just have to see on the wayside as road kill OR on the plus side helping tons of people, purchased by a reputable company, or with a Wall Street ticker symbol. 😉 Either way you end up with some sort of vultures around you.
Sadly, yesterday afternoon there was a car-squashed dead squirrel in the road outside our house. Our neighbor across the street told me she saw a big vulture hanging out in one of the trees outside of her house. I told her about the dead squirrel and it immediately made sense to both of us why it was there. Needless to say, this morning the squirrel was no longer on the road. Anyway, I digress…
Everyone knows intrinsically that high risk can equal high rewards but we often forget it also can mean high loss and sometimes making odd, creative decisions.
So what’s an entrepreneur to do?
Well she doesn’t give up easily. She looks at her situation, looks ahead at the several uncharted roads ahead of her, gets manic stresses about it for a while, and then puts her foot down on one of the paths on the fork in the road ahead and starts walking. If she’s got control of her thoughts (which I don’t usually) she won’t look back and wonder “what if?” She’ll move forward and hope the path will eventually rejoin, and perhaps even speed up, the wider, bigger path to achieving her vision.
I have just encountered such a fork in my entrepreneurial road. [As an aside, why do they call it a fork when the utensil we eat with has 4 prongs (sometimes 3) but when we think of a fork in the road it usually is shown with 2?!] I’m hoping it will lead to bigger and better things for me, my family, and my company. Time and presence-of-mind (what’s that?!) will tell.
Author: Aruni | Filed under: entrepreneur, entrepreneurship, working mother | Tags: entrepreneur, entrepreneurship, fork in the road, risky ventures | 11 Comments »
It’ll work out for the best…. Hang in there! : )
Carole’s last blog post..A roundup of the day.
Whatever you decide to do, I wish you the best of luck!
I am working on one of those, “What the heck am I doing?” projects right now but if I can pull it off we stand to help a lot of people!
mark @ mytropicalescape’s last blog post..39 Things I Have Learned As I Prepare to Turn 40
@Carole – thanks! I’ll keep hanging!
@mark – thanks. That’s what usually keeps us striving towards our goal…the hope that if we pull it off it will help a lot of people.
Good luck, Aruni! I’m sure you will choose the “right” tine of the fork, even if you aren’t sure which one it is, just yet. 🙂
Nicole’s last blog post..Sleep Training (From No Cry to Cry) Series – Part 5
Hi Aruni — It sounds like you’re facing big choices. I’ll echo that “Hang in there” and add something else: sometimes when we look back on pivotal life moments, they make sense. When we’re right in the middle of them, however, it’s hard to get that perspective. So just know that this will all make sense some day!
Kristin Gorski’s last blog post..How do you make your book “social”?
You’re right! Only grilling forks have only 2 prongs. Good luck with whatever path you choose!
Asianmommy’s last blog post..Big Bugs Exhibition
@Nicole – I hope so. I think it will be a good decision in the end.
@Kristin – thanks! As they say “hindsight is 20/20” And you are right…things usually work out for the best.
@Asianmommy – I forgot about the grilling forks! 🙂
Hi Aruni,
I echo all the other comments–Kristin’s in particular. It’s an interesting balancing act we have when we want to be there for our family (and I’m starting to see an entrepreneurial spirit budding in my 8 y.o.) and still maintain our businesses. But as cliche as it sounds, “Faith and perseverance” are good tools to have during this journey. 🙂
Carol
Carol Dickson-Carr’s last blog post..How Do We Overcome Resistance to Implementation?
Hi Carol – It is certinaly an interesting balancing act between business and kids. I always say I’m responsible for 3 ventures, my company and 2 kids. 🙂
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