Archive for the 'Alpha Male Inspirations' Category
Dragon’s Den injects a dose of reality to would-be entrepreneurs
I like Dragon’s Den mainly because it gives me a reason to scream at the television. Knocker entrepreneurs overvalue their junior business ideas, show up with no sales, and act like they are on the same level as the dragons. I really like when a moron tells them that they ‘are going to miss out’ and they ‘obviously don’t see the opportunity.’
This week’s show gave the background on each dragon. From single mother of four to an immigrant who came to Canada with almost nothing, these five people never got anything given to them. Most thought they would fail, there were times when they came close. But they all stepped into it and made it happen. What I found to be the nugget (the gift) in that show was Kevin’s story about working in an ice cream parlour. The nasty owner told him to “get down on his knees and scrape the gum off the floor.” He told her no and he was fired. He decided at that point to NEVER work for someone else again. Never give his power to someone else. That story really resonate with me as I’ve been similar situations where the person I worked for asked me to do something so insulting, so demoralizing, that I realized I was selling my soul for money. That doesn’t work out.
True entrepreneurs, those of us that don’t make it a choice, but it is a calling, have had this story happen to us. Recently, I told a would-be entrepreneur that they might be better served going to work in the corporate world. Running the gauntlet will let you know if it is for you, or if you must have control of your life in each and every way. Employees think starting a business is risky; entrepreneurs think that having someone else responsible for if you eat or not is risky. I’m the latter, but many friends are the former. It is up to you to decide what works for you. Life is too short to scrape gum off the floor.
Invictus, by William Ernest Henley
Out of the night that covers me,
Black as the Pit from pole to pole,
I thank whatever gods may be
For my unconquerable soul.
In the fell clutch of circumstance
I have not winced nor cried aloud.
Under the bludgeonings of chance
My head is bloody, but unbowed.
Beyond this place of wrath and tears
Looms but the Horror of the shade,
And yet the menace of the years
Finds, and shall find, me unafraid.
It matters not how strait the gate,
How charged with punishments the scroll.
I am the master of my fate:
I am the captain of my soul
If you’d like a copy for your room/bag/fridge, grab a PDF here.
Best,
Chris.