The Self-Reliant Entrepreneur

June 12No Speedy Limit

Here is this vast, savage, howling mother of ours, Nature, lying all around, with such beauty, and such affection for her children, as the leopard; and yet we are so early weaned from her breast to society, to that culture which is exclusively an interaction of person on person,—a sort of breeding in and in, which produces at most a merely English nobility, a civilization destined to have a speedy limit.

Henry David Thoreau—“Walking” (1862)

How can we reclaim a natural relationship with our mother? The metaphor of Mother Nature assumes the most positive attributes most associate with the unconditionally loving, graceful, and nurturing picture of someone you might call Mom.

This, however, isn't a reflection on family dynamics; it's a suggestion that nature and entrepreneurs are made for each other even as society has other plans.

Entrepreneurs need space to think and grow and solve problems.

David Strayer, a cognitive psychologist at the University of Utah who specializes in attention, conducted a study of Outward Bound participants and found that they performed 50 percent better on creative problem-solving tasks after three days of wilderness backpacking. Countless other studies suggest the science is clear—time spent in nature is good for you.

Do your planning outside; book a three-day company backpack. Dread the idea of lying on the damp, cold, hard ground, while all around you the coyotes yip, bark, and howl to each other? Okay, fine, go sit in ...