“Choose Your Adventure”

Pull up a chair, grab a seat and let me lend you my ear.

This past Friday, I had an impromptu heart to heart with a colleague of mine at a neighborhood coffeehouse. He is an artisan at heart, but he has built a successful business in town. I knew his story well because I had served both as a friendly neighbor and as a professional resource to his business through the years. We chatted about a crossroads which he was facing.

He told me that he and his business partners no longer saw eye to eye. They had reached an impasse. The options to resolve the situation were clear: either sell his stake to them after a proper valuation had been reached or remain a principal owner and remove himself from day to day business operations. His life was at an inflection point, and he had an important decision to make.

There are times in life where fighting is necessary. In some cases, it is vital to survival. Every once and a while, however, we are better off walking away from the fight, going on an adventure and embracing the unknown.

Speaking of adventure, I have been a voracious reader of epics since I was a little boy. Books were a constant companion, a welcome friend. Homer is one of my favorite authors, and those of us who were able to survive dactylic hexameter—don’t ask—were treated to rich stories in two of his classics, The Iliad and The Odyssey.

The experience of reading, and embracing, these two stories has served me well in life. “The Iliad” is a story of the great fight as Hector and Achilles duel with each other to the death against the backdrop of the Trojan War. “The Odyssey” is the story of the great adventure as Odysseus, at the conclusion of the Trojan War,travels home from Troy to Ithaca to reunite with his wife Helen.

I prefer Robert Fagles’ translations of these epics, and I have read and reread my hardcovers over the years. Copious notes and highlights now fill the pages. I had come to interpret the value and cost of fighting through varied challenges over the years. My thoughts would often drift back to “The Iliad” in these instances. A series of mid-life events led me to consider changing my natural inclination to fight and to instead embrace the role of being an adventurer. I felt like Odysseus as he tried to make sense of the trials and tribulations he faced on his journey during the Odyssey.

“He’s scared, but being scared is not a reason to hold onto the past.”

I was thinking this to myself while holding court with my colleague over a cup of coffee. It had been obvious to me for some time that he was better off moving on, but the fear of the unknown is often a powerful deterrent to change. I said as much to him and pointed out that he was in a better position than most to take on a new risk, especially because he is unhappy in the business today.

Fear is not a good reason to remain stuck in place.

Our responsibility is to put ourselves in the best possible position for success. The first step forward down that path is often a necessary and vital one. Thankfully, I had thought of Homer’s books and recalled the lessons of these tales at the onset of the conversation. I’ll be curious to see how my colleague’s story plays out in due time and I hope the journey treats him well.

Are you a business owner, entrepreneur or executive who would benefit from advice along the way?

I’d like to hear more about your professional journey. Do you relish the notion of a big fight? Do you embrace the idea of adventure?