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A Final Thought on A Good Friday

Written by: James Chan

Article Overview: This is the real reason why we want to be entrepreneurs.

A Final Thought on A Good Friday

It doesn~{!/~}t take much to be a entrepreneur. It takes a drive to be independent, to carve out a niche in the world for yourself. It takes the courage to choose what you want to become, and to face the ordeals of making it happen. It takes a certain foolhardiness. There~{!/~}s no safety net to catch us if we stumble. Entrepreneurs know this very well. This is why we deserve to rule the kingdoms of our own desire.

Entrepreneurs like you and me do not pretend that we are wealthy or powerful like the real tycoons. This is why we call ourselves entrepreneurs. But because we depend only on ourselves to make a living and no one else, we are subject to no one else on earth. We respect the real tycoons as much as we respect ourselves.

My grandfather really was a tycoon of sorts. At the turn of the twentieth century, when he was in his early teens, he left his village in southern China near Canton. Poor and without anything to his name, he went to Honduras and became very rich. He was the first person in that country to own a private plane. He also owned a lumber yard, a candle import business and a glass factory. He was wealthy enough to retire at age 40. He was a friend of the then president of Honduras. His friend asked him to represent Honduras as its ambassador to China, but he said no. He moved instead to San Francisco.

I got to know him when he was old and had moved back to Hong Kong to live with his eldest son, my father, and his favorite daughter-in-law, my mother; and to die there. I was a small child.

I liked the salami and cheese that my grandfather had shipped to him from America, but I was particularly fascinated by what was written on a parchment scroll. It was one of his prize possessions, protected under glass atop the chest in which he stashed his valuables. I remember climbing up to read the calligraphy.

The parchment was a celebration of industriousness, surmounted by the Chinese character for hard work, written large in bold black brushstrokes. This declaration followed in smaller characters: ~{!0~}I take a walk up the rocky hills with my umbrella open. I see a man who collects firewood. I look at him and see that he is poor. His skin is wrinkled. His feet are sore. I jeer at him for being poor. He looks back at me and says: I make a living on my own. Every grain of rice I eat I earn with my own labor and with a clear conscience. I~{!/~}m as much of a hero as anyone.~{!1~}

Entrepreneurs need not be wealthy and powerful potentates. We need only be individuals who stand on our own two feet. We search for our heart~{!/~}s desires. We hone our talents and skills. We try to provide some of what the market wants. We make a living on our own, not expecting anyone to feed us. We welcome riches, fame and power if they come. But if they never materialize, we know that we still live our own lives. We are not at anyone~{!/~}s beck and call. We kowtow to nobody.

There will be sunny days and stormy nights, mornings of foggy silence and afternoons of parched desperation. But knowing that we are doing what we want, that we are true to our principles and our talents, and that we answer only to ourselves is a source of joy that will always be with us.

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Article Tags: brushstrokes, calligraphy, chinese character, early teens, eldest son, first person, glass factory, import business, industriousness, kingdoms, lumber yard, ordeals, parchment scroll, president of honduras, private plane, prize possessions, salami, southern china, tycoons, valuables



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