The River of the Entrepreneur | A Journey of Trust

Our work is an expression of who we are. What we do for a living is a big part of our self-identity. Why? The answer is simple. It is what we do for a living. Go to any party, get together or networking event and that’s the first thing people will ask you. “What do you do?”

You may be tempted to cheekily say, “I eat, sleep, shower and so on…” But the truth is that what we do for a living is a significant part of what defines our self-worth, self-esteem and self-value in our adult years. In our adolescence, we defined our identity vis-a-vis our peer group and even pop culture fads. By the time we reach adult age, these aspects diminish in importance.

For the entrepreneur, his or her business is an expression of himself. It is also an expression of its environment. Through the creation of a business, we can find an outlet to express both ourselves and what others are looking to express.

It is a journey through both time and space.

The River of the Entrepreneur

We started our business journey as the rock. We erected it and carved it into existence. But then we realised, we cannot stay ‘here’ forever. The great river of life was waiting… It was waiting to take us to unforeseeable places that we never thought possible.

The foundation of every business is the erection of an edifice that we hope will last. Sometimes, it does. Sometimes, it doesn’t.

To be a rock is to be insecure, for a hammer can come and shatter you into pieces. The earth can quake and rip you apart. There are many institutions like that in this world. Even if they have lasted the tough test of time, people have splintered off and branched off from ‘the rock’ to go their separate ways. They look a large chunk of the original rock and used it to create a new foundation stone.

They never looked back. Why should you?

Have you ever been part of an institution or known a person that simply did not want to change? We all have. For some, the surety they offer is comforting. They tell us that this is the way. It is the only way. There is no other way.

That is not the truth.

Most businesses come, they go. Why not yours? Why not create something new when things are not working out? You cannot build something ‘new’ if you use an old blueprint. Look at the rock upon which you have built your business. Does it need to change? Do you need to carve something new into it?

The rock is a symbol for that which will endure in the face of tremendous change. You are the rock. You will endure. But not in the same manner you once did.

Water, like fire, alters the Nature of the very thing it interacts with. It does not fight. It cannot. Water, however, can always find a path and a way. Water does not flow silently. You can hear its thrust, its trickle and its frozen silence. It shapes, it moulds and it surrenders. It can only ever be what is. Yet, it is everywhere. It shapes and provides structure and sustenance to the world.

Without water, a business cannot survive. Whole civilisations perished in the face of a lack of water. Water is the life force that creates life. When water is forceful, she takes life away. It is the balance.

The forcefulness of water is born in the wake of the sensitivity that it feels to its environment. It goes on flowing. It finds a way. Ask the Great Rocks of the world how they have been crafted, and they will tell you it is by the Hand of Water. It is strong, yet soft.

But the rocks, they want to be hard and firm. But then water comes–and when it goes–the rock is altered forever.

Businesses are the same, my dear.

There is a time to be like a rock. There is a time to be like the water. The important thing is know when to be what. When water freezes, it too, becomes the rock. But once the warmth comes, water releases and flows free.

It trusts the journey and knows that there is no real destination.

When you become water, there is no need to believe in a theory. There is no need to believe in a hypothesis. There is no need to believe in a study. There is no need to only put your faith in what has ‘lasted’. To trust is to trust your own experience and the truth that has been revealed to you through your questing. It is your experience, your mind and your quest that you need to trust, believe and have faith in.

What have you come to believe regarding what a business is and how it must be run? How much of this in an inherited belief system of people who are no longer alive? If so, I say, open your eyes and see the world around you.

Be seen by the world around you. To be in business is to see and to be seen.

When we trust, we relax. We realise the whole existence of life is taking care of everything and everyone else. We no longer worry. The darkness you grapple with is only your own creation. At times, it has even been created in you. Your loneliness in the face of it is your own creation and the creation of those around you.

You can let it go. You can release who you were and become who you are meant to be.

We pointlessly go out into the world to seek advise when our potential is ready to speak to us from the innermost core of our being. The vastness of consciousness has a direct connection with your being.

Once you discover it, it will be your truth. It will be your life.