Perhaps you’ve heard about how they train circus elephants.
When the baby elephant is little, they drive a sturdy stake in the ground and chain its leg to it.
The little elephant yanks and tugs and struggles against the chain, but it can’t pull it out. Eventually, it comes to the conclusion that it can’t defeat the restraint and stops fighting it.
Because elephants are so smart, they remember this lesson and carry it with them on into adulthood. Which is why, even though a full-grown elephant could easily snatch the stake out of the ground, they don’t even try.
I’m not here to talk about the morality of these training methods.
I’m here to talk about you.
You are that baby elephant.
How so?
If you’re running your own business, there were things you struggled against when you were first starting out. Maybe it was cash flow and inventory turn, employee satisfaction, customer retention, marketing, or something else. Whatever it was, I have one question.
When was the last time you “pushed” against that problem?
What was once your little business has likely grown larger and stronger. You probably have resources now you didn’t before. So if you’re reading this, take it as your sign to revisit some old hurdles.
Who knows, you might just be able to snatch them right out of the ground.
– Zac Smith, VC
