Page 40 - 6 Secrets to Startup Success

True Believers 19

AND NOW, A WORD FROM THE UNIVERSE

Students of religion, philosophy, or self-help will note that the mo-
tivational atmosphere around entrepreneurship has a familiar ring.
It mostly parallels historical traditions that encourage self-discovery
and self-improvement. Celebrated U.S. mythologist and writer Joseph
Campbell reminded us that the powerful theme “Follow Your Bliss”
resonates through ancient stories and myths of all cultures.10 Like-
wise, adherents of The Law of Attraction, a positive thinking concept
popularized in 2007 in the movie and book The Secret—and one that
proliferated quickly through the you-can-do-it blogosphere—dates
back to the world’s earliest societies.

One of the most well-known passages ever written on the topic
of commitment was attributed to the nineteenth-century German
writer Goethe, who wrote “Whatever you can do or dream, you can
do, begin it. Boldness has genius, power, and magic in it. Begin it
now.”11 I was influenced by this passage during the 1990s, as I prepared
to quit my salaried position (as a husband and a father of a six-month-
old girl) to start an independent consulting practice. And I’ve shared
similar materials with my clients from time to time, bringing relevant
historical wisdom to the challenges of today.

The point here is that optimism travels well, and it has done so
across the ages. It’s as if some god of startups has been active all along,
century after century, provoking fervent belief and bold action among
merchants, traders, dreamers, and adventurers of all stripes. If you are
looking to find encouragement and further stoke your passion for your
new venture, material is readily available from all directions, all cen-
turies, day or night.

If You Build It, Will They Come?

Lynn Ivey’s unshakeable commitment to her cause has come down
to this. Three and a half years after she has left her bank job, she and
I are sitting in the high-ceilinged main room of The Ivey, her
sparkling $4.5 million adult daycare facility. Although it is midday,
we are nearly alone in the center. Only a couple of staff members are
around to care for the two clients who have signed up so far.

American Management Association • www.amanet.org