AuthorSharon Eden-Smith (@sharonedensmith) is the entrepreneur who established Eden-Smith Music. She will be posting blog articles about the business of...
As I said in my blog article entitled,
I had no intention of owning my own business. Here I am, an entrepreneur!
A few years ago, I visited an extreme adventure park. I was not going to participate in that either. My plan was to sit quietly and read a book. Others would enjoyed themselves among the 7 obstacle courses suspended in the trees. My reading never happened. I took one look at the rope ladders, swings, tightropes, bridges, zip-lines, etc., dangling above my head in the foliage, often multiple stories up, and there was no way I was going to be left behind! Each obstacle course had a harness system. This was to mitigate the risk of injury to the user. The system, however, did not alleviate the potential risk all together. On the final obstacle, of the last course, I stepped onto one of the small octagonal platforms. It twisted slightly. I lost my balance. I slid off. The edge of the wooden structure caught my right leg just above the ankle. Before my harness stopped my fall, I had a scrape from my ankle all the way to my knee. The surrounding area turned blue, black and purple, almost immediately. My shin resembled the menacing clouds of a severe thunder storm about to break. I still have a scar from the incident. Mitigating risk is a constant necessity for all entrepreneurs. Compared to owning an extreme adventure park, my music business is relatively risk free. The industry of private music education is considered conservative on the risk assessment spectrum. Despite those facts, the day to day operations of Eden-Smith Music still have me feeling as if I am maneuvering through one of the courses, testing my abilities on the obstacles. I have my harness on, but I know that I can still fall. I can still get hurt. I can still scar. So why does a person who never dreamed of owning her own business become an entrepreneur, especially if that is the way I feel most of the time? I love the build! The ability to watch something grow, to know that I have had a hand in it, to dream about where something can go and to set the goals to get there are all part of participating in the extreme adventure park of entrepreneurship. For me, the journey is worth the risk. If you enjoyed this article, let me know. Post a comment! Like it! Tweet it! You may also want to read another article in this series:
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AuthorSharon Eden-Smith (@sharonedensmith) is the entrepreneur who established Eden-Smith Music. She will be posting blog articles about the business of...
There are 5 gates within Yellowstone National Park in the United States. Those 5 gates are in 3 different states (2 in Idaho, 2 in Wyoming, 1 in Montana). If you drive out the wrong gate and do not realize it until later, you can add hours to your destination. I did exactly that. By the time I realized my mistake, there was no point in turning around. I added 3 hours to our travel time. I did not think that I would ever live that down. I was sure that my companions were going to tease me for the rest of my life. To my surprise, the exact opposite occurred.
The Northeast exit of Yellowstone National Park connects with the Beartooth Highway (a section of US Route 212) in Montana. This highway does not go around the Beartooth Mountains. It goes up and over the top of the range. It is also only open from Mid-May to Mid-October, weather permitting. We were traveling the highway in late August. The views of the montane meadows were like nothing that I had ever seen before. The colours of the vegetation at that altitude, time of day, season of the year and weather conditions made me feel as if someone had placed a photographic colour-enhancement filter over my eyes. And yet, everything I saw was real, even the bears! We stopped at the peak, Beartooth Pass. Beartooth Pass is 10,947 ft. (3,337 m) above sea level. That is where we drank our last 2 soda pops. There was something uniquely special as we sat sharing our ice cold sarsaparilla and huckleberry pops, among 4 people. We were sharing the time. We were sharing the view. We were sharing the journey. It was at that moment that my 3 companions told me that I did not make a mistake in the exit that I chose. I made an adventure. I was also welcome to do it again. That response was not what I had expected. While navigating my business, I sometimes take Eden-Smith Music out the wrong exit at Yellowstone National Park. I add hours to what has to be done because of my error. Those hours always seem to bear fruit. Perhaps, it is because I realize that there is no going back. I am forced to see and experience something that I never would have, had I stayed the course. I also have to be more open, during those times, to multiple perspectives. That way, I can enjoy a sarsaparilla or huckleberry soda at the peak. Teachable moments pop up continually on those journeys, I become the teacher and the learner simultaneously. It is rarely an easy process, but it is always worthwhile. In the end, I become like my Beartooth Highway companions. I am grateful for the adventure. If you enjoyed this article, let me know. Post a comment! Like it! Tweet it! You may also want to read another article in this series:
"Follow" or "Like" Eden-Smith Music on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram or LinkedIn. That way, you'll get the news as to when the next blog post is up!
Subscribe to the Eden-Smith Music Youtube channel for the latest Eden-Smith Music videos. Click on a social media icon, below, to take you where you want to go!
Click on the Button below if you want to go to the Eden-Smith Music Blog Index for more articles to read!
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AuthorSharon Eden-Smith (@sharonedensmith) is the entrepreneur who established Eden-Smith Music. She will be posting blog articles about the business of... @edensmithmusic
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November 2019
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