The Self-Reliant Entrepreneur

February 8As We Are

Say what some poets will, Nature is not so much her own ever-sweet interpreter, as the mere supplier of that cunning alphabet, whereby selecting and combining as they please, each person reads their own peculiar lesson according to their own peculiar mind and mood.

Herman Melville—Pierre: or, The Ambiguities (1852)

In his best-selling book, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, author Stephen Covey included this thought: “Each of us tends to think we see things as they are, that we are objective. But this is not the case. We see the world, not as it is, but as we are—or, as we are conditioned to see it.”

The use of this exact phrase—“We see the world, not as it is, but as we are”—is found in countless sermons and self-help literature, including some translations of the Talmud, a collection of writings on Jewish law and tradition, compiled and edited between the third and sixth centuries. Suffice it to say, it's not an entirely new concept.

Concepts, ideas, platitudes are wonderful—understanding of the ideas, however, is what makes us self-reliant.

All innovation and creativity depend on this very idea. The notion that we get to choose and arrange our own “cunning alphabet” is a powerful concept for certain. So what will you do with it?

Challenge Question

1. What's one word you could invent for your life today?