The Self-Reliant Entrepreneur

June 25The Bended Tree

Power is in nature the essential measure of right. Nature suffers nothing to remain in her kingdoms which cannot help itself. The genesis and maturation of a planet, its poise and orbit, the bended tree recovering itself from the strong wind, the vital resources of every animal and vegetable, are demonstrations of the self-sufficing, and therefore self-relying soul.

Ralph Waldo Emerson—Self-Reliance (1841)

The self-reliant entrepreneur marries adaptability with self-belief to find solutions to problems and recover from setbacks.

Adaptability suggests the ability to change as needed, and it comes from a place of survival that's rooted in your need to do your own thing. What that thing is might not matter as much as the freedom to do it.

Many people are adaptable, but you are the bended tree that can recover itself from the strong wind, and that's what drives you to take on and figure out how to do things that are hard. That's what eventually allows you to string a bunch of hard-fought wins into something that looks like it's going to work after all.

Today, take stock in how you react to any situation that doesn't go as you expected.

Challenge Question

1. How adaptable are you? How do you know?