We either risk something to be proactive and intentional, or we risk what it means to be reactive and passive. Each decision reflects this.
That's why I appreciate Richard Branson's metaphor on this:
It's like painting. You start with a blank canvas. You can paint anything – anything – and there, right there, is your first problem. For every good painting you might turn out, there are a zillion bad paintings just aching to drip off your brush. Scared? You should be.
You start.
You pick a colour. The next colour you choose has to work with the first colour. The third colour has to work with the first colour and the second. The fourth colour...
You get the idea. You're committed now. You absolutely cannot stop. You've invested. There is no reverse gear on this thing.
People who bad-mouth businessmen and women in general are missing the point. People in business who succeed have swallowed their fear and have set out to create something special, something to make a difference to people's lives. Are the colours just right? Are the planes polished? Do the crew look good? Are they comfortable? Are the seats OK? What's the food like? It costs how much...?Whatever opportunity God has invited you to seize, seize it. Be of courage.
And whether you're a surrealist or a CEO, there are always bills to pay and money always arrives later than you ever dreamed possible. In the teeth of a downturn, petty financial hassles can turn into major, life-changing crises, and tough decisions often have to be made. This is the side of business that journalists like to write about – but it's the least exciting, least distinctive part of business. It's secondary. It's dull.
What really matters is what you create. Does it work or not? Does it make you proud?
- Richard Branson, Business Stripped Bare
Start painting. The colored perspective you can offer the world just may be exactly what it needs.
"In the morning sow your seed, and at evening withhold not your hand, for you do not know which will prosper, this or that, or whether both alike will be good." (Ecclesiastes 11:6)
