Entrepreneurship Series – The road less travelled
The first step to becoming an entrepreneur starts with the decision to be an entrepreneur. This is one of those forks in the road that you come to in life on occasion. A great metaphor for that decision point is a poem by Robert Frost “The Road not taken”.
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The road not taken
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Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;
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Then took the other, as just as fair
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that, the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,
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And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.
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I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
two roads diverged in a wood, and I –
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.
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Once you decide to venture down that road less travelled the entrepreneurial adventure begins. The journey is full of adventure, exhilarating ups usually followed by the depths of despair. It is a wild and bumpy ride. This series is based on my personal experiences, conversations with some of the other entrepreneurs and great people I have met along the way.
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Are you a reader or a writer?
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The first time I heard the reader/writer analogy for entrepreneurship used was at Entrepreneurship week in Waterloo. Ben Casnocha was speaking with Fred Ngo (of Montreal fame) at the event.
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The premise is that there is basically one of two paths in life that you can choose. A reader prefers to enjoy stories written by others and perhaps takes a somewhat more passive approach barrowing from their parent’s owner’s manual using that as a guide on how to live their life. A writer writes their own life story and creates unique opportunities. Entrepreneurs are writers.
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Tomorrow post – The bungee metaphor.
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Ian Graham
[...] Entrepreneurship series. . 1. Entrepreneurship 1.1. The Ugly, the bad, the good and the great. 1.2. The Road Less Traveled 1.3. The Bungee Metaphor . 2. The Ugly 2.1. The only thing to be feared is fear itself 2.2. Fear of [...]