Wall of Worry

"The temptation to quit will be greatest just before you are about to succeed."
-- Bob Parsons, founder of GoDaddy (supposedly from a Chinese proverb)

It occurs so frequently that it has become a cliche. The entrepreneur who is on the verge of dismal failure, grinds it out and builds a successful business. In many ways, failure is a rite of passage in the entrepreneurial world. Why? In many ways, it sometimes takes failure to strip away fascades and show what is really important in life and to redouble ones focus on those items. Sometimes, it strips away constraints, pseudo goals and pretenses. However, nothing in life is guaranteed.

The following is a short passage I came across on Buckminster Fuller. Interesting story that I was not aware of...

Life Brings Idea, Idea Brings Life
It's true that Buckminster Fuller had a flair for designing and making things even as a child. As he grew up, he also demonstrated a flair for being a non-conformist -- getting expelled twice from Harvard! He married young, served in the Navy during World War 1, and then went into business with his father-in-law -- a business that ultimately failed. At age 32, Buckminster Fuller found himself bankrupt, jobless and raising a young family in poor housing. When his beloved daughter, Alexandra, died of pneumonia, Fuller was inconsolable with guilt and shame. He blamed himself for her death and spiralled down into an alcohol-fuelled depression that took him to the brink of suicide. But just as he was contemplating killing himself, Fuller was struck by the magic creative thought that saved his life and launched him on the path that would make him world famous for his creative thinking.

The Magic Thought That Led Buckminster To A 'Fuller' Creative Life
So, what was this amazing idea that could bust through the walls of suicidal depression and wrench a man back towards life? What thought was so intriguing and worth living for? Well, in his depressed mindset, Buckminster Fuller had been thinking about everything that was wrong with the world and all the awful challenges it faces. And the idea that struck him was so exciting to him that he resolved then and there to put it into practice and see where it led. In his own words, he embarked on "an experiment, to find what a single individual can contribute to changing the world and benefiting all humanity."

Unleashing YOUR Creativity
The World we live in faces many challenges: environmental, social, economical, political. Those problems can seem so huge and insurmountable that we often give up on them before we even try to tackle them. But the mind is designed to meet creative challenges. The way to unleash its creative power is through responsibility and decision. When you decide that it's up to you, that you are going to do it, then your mind gets into gear and starts working at a higher level. We are purpose driven beings. And in each and every one of us there is a core desire to be of use. We all want to help make the world a better place. We all want to make a significant contribution. We all want to demonstrate to ourselves (and others) that our lives have meaning, that we are important, that we are more than just an "eating, sh*tting and fu**ing machine". And so, your enormous personal creative power is unleashed by Buckminster Fuller's thought: What can I do? How can I help? How can I make this world a better place? How can I help humanity have a better life and a better future?