Over the last year, I’ve had countless conversations with entrepreneurs about their journeys. Through the podcast I host and my role as a business advisor, I have the opportunity to hear people’s stories and learn about what drew them into their journey.
Through these conversations, it has become clearer to me that we never know where we’re going to end up. As much as we try to forecast, plan, and prepare for a specific trajectory, the destination is unknowable.
The fear of the unknown outcome is what keeps most people away from entrepreneurship.
I would argue that denying the reality of the unknown outcome is what gets some entrepreneurs into deep trouble.
So how do we deal with the reality of stepping off on a journey with an unknown outcome?
This is a story that humans have been telling for millenia. Joseph Campbell outlined the hero’s journey’s storyline, which we find in the great stories throughout history.
Luke Skywalker could’ve just as well have been starting an apparel brand instead of defeating the Empire. The story arc would have been similar.
The call to adventure -> meeting a mentor -> encounters allies and enemies -> faces their greatest trial -> overcomes the trial and gains new knowledge -> the hero is eventually transformed.
The story of a Jedi and an entrepreneur are pretty darn similar. But the reality is that 20% of new business ventures fail in year one and 50% fail by year five. So not everyone defeats the Empire.
And that’s what makes it a journey into the unknown. We can do our best to plan and prepare but we don’t know what the outcome will be.
This isn’t a warning against stepping off on the journey. I believe it’s one of the most rewarding adventures we can choose. But my suggestion is to treat it like a hero’s journey. Find allies, learn from your mentors and be willing to be transformed as a person.
Through these conversations, it has become clearer to me that we never know where we’re going to end up. As much as we try to forecast, plan, and prepare for a specific trajectory,