Looking at a tree we learn much; every season it's different, it grows from a sapling to an empowering identity with roots spread out, soaks in nutrition from nature and abundantly produces leaves and fruit; each season, many reasons. Mostly its low hanging fruit is where the attention goes; a heavy bunch, when ripe they fall without effort; always a few inches away from grasp.
The fruit is the pride of the tree owner; yet crammed together, stamped for quality and identity, they make their way to the market for sale. The corporate world is no different, each year the low hanging fruit graduate from universities; stamped for quality and auctioned to the best bidder in campus placements. Young minds filled with enthusiasm, join companies in different departments; beginning their journey with hope and energy to make a difference.
Years in the merry-go-round, limited by boxes of KRA’s and appraisals, they move from company to company, for incremental advantage or fancy dog collars, allowing the apples to apples comparison to set in. It always remains; somebody else’s dream, somebody else’s rules and somebody else’s assessment. The 9 to 5 rush, social pressures for more, tango with EMIs commitments and deluded self-perception masked behind brands and fancy vacations, is where dreams are lost to fears of tomorrow; defeated the ideas of today stand.
Nobody can beat the house; the pyramid rule rocks – 5% make it to the upper crust, the rest will slide and roll one on top of the other or alongside, to either end up as chunkie bites in a apple puree or simply a well blended apple juice, all together, one consistency; loss of individual identity. But there is also another reality, that not everybody is an apple to start with, some are leaves, others stems or branches, others the bark of the tree or it's roots; each one unique, a significant part that makes the tree whole.
Present times are filled with opportunity and ideas. People are low on judgment toward those choosing a different career and high on tolerance to giving new things a try at least once. We are surrounded by stories of the brave, who followed their course and made a success of it. There is a keen interest to learn about what motivated them to make the big switch, how it feels to be one’s own master, the freedom to set one’s own rules and targets and finally the courageous pursuit despite the formidable fear of possible failure or overwhelming joy of unexpected success.
Our professional lives is an extension of our spiritual identity and following the flock only takes us further away from ourselves. When we listen to the prompting of self, we end up working for ourselves and tapping into our potential reservoir, enjoying the limitlessness that resides in us. John Lenon, “ When I was 5 years old my mother always told me that happiness was the key to life. When I went to school, they asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up. I wrote down ‘Happy’. They told me I didn’t understand the assignment and I told them they didn’t understand life"
Entrepreneurship is the pursuit of one’s passion, its not based on a whim or a fancy rather on a belief that there is that one thing that we can do better than anyone. It takes conviction and strength to take the risk after meticulously studying the pros and cons, when the scale tips towards; it’s worth the shot, that’s the time to flow. It also takes partnering with like minded, allowing the energy of the idea to get stronger as it moves from a virtual space to the canvas onwards to reality “ The best way to predict the future, is to create it”
It takes strength to hold on despite the highs and lows and persevere despite all odds. Steve Jobs said, “ Your time is limited so don’t waste it living someone else’s life. Don’t be trapped by dogma – which is living with the results of other people’s thinking. Don’t let the noise of other’s opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition”.
Being your own boss is a worthy pursuit provided there is a leader in you, somebody who is passionate to create something and build opportunity to bring people together, irrelevant of product, service or platform; someone who is driven to give back to society - to make a difference. Dive in if you are willing to swim all the way to the end, you might find a lot of company along the way. Or else sit at the shore, soak in the sun and return to daily routine.
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