The Complex System: Story of an Entrepreneur

GUT

More than once in my career I’ve trusted my instincts and reaped rewards for doing so; but more than I care to admin I’ve ignored what my gut was telling me and missed some big opportunities. This happened to me recently and I’m irritated with myself for letting it happen. I always have something inside me guiding my opinions. Often I have a strong feeling about something, but I’m not always convinced in my heart as to the right thing to do. But, in some cases I am. In this recent example I just knew it, from balls to bone that my instinct was right. I had this tingling passionate feeling inside telling me; push on this one, push. I wish I had, we missed out.

I don’t think the key is simply knowing what the right thing to do all the time, that’s unrealistic. And it’s not about blindly trusting my gut. But it is about distinguishing between a feeling and a passion. It’s happened enough that I can make that determination, and when I do, I won’t sit back and listen, I’m going to push and push hard.

RISK

Risk is a concept that denotes the precise probability of specific eventualities. When I think about my life I know I’ve taken some pretty big risks. However, at the time I didn’t feel that I was taking that big of a risk. So I question what really makes up risk. If you have little or no fear about the results is that risky? What if you have fear, but your passion, adrenaline or some other emotion drives you to ignore and push forward, is that risky? What if you actually stop and shudder when you really know, in your heart, that something is risky, is that risky? In life, and business, risk is what makes the difference between playing small life and creating the big bang. When the time comes, and risk presents itself as an opportunity, I hope to have the courage, intelligence, insight, strength, curiosity, passion and poise to grab the bull by the horns.