Friday, February 4, 2005

Lessons for entrepreneurs in "Life of Pi"?

"I have heard of a Korean merchant sailor named Poon, I believe, who survived the Pacific for 173 days in the 1950s.



I survived 227 days. That's how long my trial lasted, over seven months.



I kept myself busy. That was one key to my survival. On a lifeboat, even on a raft, there's always something that needs doing. [...]



A tiger is a fascinating animal at any time, and all the more so when it is you sole companion.



At first looking out for a ship was something I did all the time, compulsively. But after a few weeks, five or six, I stopped doing it nearly entirely.



And I survived because I made a point of forgetting. My story started on a calendar day -July 2nd, 1977- and ended on a calendar day -February 14th 1978- but in between there was no calendar. I did not count the days or the weeks or the months. Time is an illusion that only makes us pant. I survived because I forgot even the very notion of time." - Yann Martel, Life of Pi



It definitely reminded me of a couple of past entrepreneurial experiences: there is a lifeboat and a raft (the start-up), a tiger (the unwanted guest: vulture capitalists or "demon angel" investors), the sea (the market), ships (commercial success)... There is also time (the factors that we cannot control and therefore should stop worrying about; ther's enough worry on matters that we can sort out). Anyway, that's my analogy.



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