Turtles And Entrepreneurs Have A Lot In Common

Recently, I was turning the whole concept of courage over in my mind while driving to work. Suddenly something happened that gave me a totally new perspective. It came in the form of a turtle.

You see on Monday morning, as I came rolling down the highway at 65 mph (well OK, it may have been a tad bit faster); I saw a large turtle attempting to cross the road. As I approached, he was walking right there in the middle of my lane. By the time I noticed him, there was no time to stop and nowhere else to go – so over him I went.

Now before you get all emotional and start firing off angry emails using words like “Turtle Slayer” or “Tortoise Abuser”, rest assured that no reptiles were injured in the making of this book. Quite to the contrary, my car passed clean over the little fellow and he even turned his tiny green head to stare at me in the rearview mirror as I drove away. Seems that being low to the ground and having an aerodynamic shell is a real plus in this part of the world (too bad about all those tall armadillos we just can’t seem to miss). But I digress.

On the way home that night, I passed the same turtle, except now he was perched exactly on the middle white stripe with his head and appendages tucked neatly into his shell. It seems that he had experienced all of the excitement he wanted for one day. When I came past that spot on Tuesday morning, he had made it completely across (under cover of darkness no doubt) and was safely making his way down the side of the highway. Good for him.

So what does a turtle crossing the highway have to do with courage?

Just imagine living in a world that is moving faster than you can even turn your head. Think about dealing with problems that are hundreds of times larger than you are and keep coming at you from all directions. Try to envision being on a path of discovery that ultimately finds you trapped in the dead middle of problems and challenges you have never even considered. Now, stay calm, make a plan and try not to get flattened as you work toward your goal.

In my humble estimation, turtles and entrepreneurs have a lot in common.

I observe that both are required to use every tool, past experience, and a large measure of good judgment if they simply wish to survive their surroundings. They both also have to get used to thriving in a world filled with incomplete information, inadequate resources and sometimes, just plain bad drivers.

Oh, and a little bit of luck goes a long way too.