This morning I woke up in a hotel in downtown Atlanta. My first view was of the cityscape seen above. It was marvelous. I thought, “What a great day!” And then, I noticed in front of that postcard perfect presentation there was the remnant of a bird’s morning breakfast splashed against the window marring what had been a great moment.

My focus immediately went to the imperfection and I could not unsee it. The picture was ruined. Had the buildings changed? Had the sky changed? Had the trees changed?

No. But my perspective had.

The question we all must ask ourselves is, “Where will we choose to look?”
 

How Quickly the Picture can Fade

As an entrepreneur, we are constantly faced with challenges. We start with an inspirational, sometimes magnanimous vision, and every day that follows is filled with something or someone attempting to change our view. It’s a never-ending barrage of assaults seeking to damage the picture we see of what could be.

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Have you ever tried to turn a snowflake into a snowball? It’s nearly impossible. When you get the first snowflake, it dissipates into nothingness before you wrangle a second one. Yet, somehow snowflakes turn into snow, which turns into a snowball and can turn into an avalanche.

Starting a business is like turning a snowflake into an avalanche. It’s rare and takes a lot of luck.

Like the first fallen snowflake, organizations start with a party of one: one chief, cook and bottle-washer. The starter has to have the momentum to stick around long enough to go from one to many without losing all of their substance, energy, determination and hope, like many before them.

I have been desperate many times, staring at the bottom of the barrel, desperate to get to one more day, always on the verge of that, “Oh Crap” moment.

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