The Myth of the Self-Made (Wo)Man
There is no such thing as a ‘self-made’ man. We are made up of thousands of others. Everyone who has ever done a kind deed for us,
or spoken one word of encouragement to us, has entered into the make-up of our character and of our thoughts, as well as our success.
– George Burton Adams
Everything we do is because of, and through, others.
Imagine someone starting a company, hiring employees and growing the company over the years and claiming it was all “him” (or “her”).
To say nothing of the educational system that supported the development of the founder and all the workers.
Or the roads that everyone travels on to get to work and which the trucks use to distribute the product.
And the myriad technical developments that came from government (especially the space program) and university research programs that under-gird our economy (especially the Internet – something started by a defense department and grown/developed by university researchers).
And so on and so . . . .
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Of course, there’s no substitute for the zeal and perseverance of an entrepreneur who doesn’t give up, despite the long odds and grueling work required to create a going concern.
Certainly any company needs the hard work of a great many people and they (usually) all start with someone who takes a big chance and works their butt off.
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But let’s not kid ourselves about how one man, or woman, makes themselves, or a company.
The way of the world is inter-dependence.
If we all were independent, we would soon perish.