If A Tree Falls In The Forest, Do You Have To Start A Company To Fill Its Void?
Before the explosion of possibility the information revolution has brought us, the entrepreneurial world seemed like a tough nut to lay your roots into. Everywhere you looked, there was hierarchy, scarcity, and a bunch of old, gargantuan trees looting most of sunlight.
So you felt like you had two choices:
1) Be a leaf on a tree (an employee at a company)
2) Be a seed that falls from the tree who tries to fend off every possible threat a jungle floor has to offer, while racing other newbies for precious sunlight to nourish your flimsy budding selves (start your own business)
If there ever was a tree that fell and created a chance for millions of seedlings to grab the sunlight, it would probably be at the other end of the forest, out of your earshot.
Fast forward to the abundance of light and listening devices that sit at the base of your opportunity today.Â
While it surely has opened the door to entrepreneurship from the ground up, it has also created a plethora of new species (hybrid opportunities) that can coexist with life in the forest.
You can be a vine that grows along with another pre-existing tree (build a hobby/work part time), or a monkey jumping from tree to tree, to the river and back again (cross cultural skills/volunteering). You can be a bird (consultant) who creates a nest in whatever tree that wins the arms race. Or you can be a leaf on whatever tree you want.
It all gets back to intentionality. It’s no longer just the choice of leaf vs. seed. This world allows you to create any combination of things. Yes, there is a lot of glory in shooting to the top of the canopy on your own but we don’t hear about the carcasses cast aside on the way up. And we certainly don’t hear enough from the leaves, vines, monkeys or birds who have been able to watch it all happen from their secured vantage points.
The trick is to enjoy your freedom of choice without being burdened by it.
Just because anyone can theoretically start a business, doesn’t mean that everyone should.
You can still be successful and live a quiet, intentional life in this ever active forest of opportunity.
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