Ramblings from the Grassroots
by Latrone Walters
Embarrassingly, I have to admit that I have more than a few voices in my head, that like to add their two cents about how to proceed with life. As an entrepreneur I have learned to ignore most of the cognitive circus and key in on a binary opposition that persists within my mental arena.
Of the two of these competing voices , the one who i call “The Initiator” expresses a common theme which is “What are you waiting for?” The Initiator isn’t concerned with being perfect or aptitude in mental calculations. The initiator sees value in decisiveness, adaptability and resiliency. Because in his strategy, those values are needed to continue to move forward in further initiatives. When I’ve been working too long on a business issue or I am undecided on what promotional/marketing decision to make, he simply just says, “GO.”
As a former professional athlete, I relate this inner guide as somewhat of a coach or drill instructor. Pushing me to move when I seem to suffer from paralysis by analysis. His points are valid as in the principle of “learning while doing” which is a principle I feel naturally inclined to accept. But The Initiator can be a bit overbearing at times, as well as delusional (There is only room for one nut job on this hamster wheel). he has the demeanor of a poorly trained foxhound. Meaning, yes it is great sometimes to go,go,go, but if you are chasing foxes in an environment where foxes don’t live then all the initiative in the world can be for naught.
Which is when the opposing party in my mindspace campaign begins to offer more solutions. His name is “The Calculator.” The Calculator in my mental space is like a college dropout that majored in Finance and Accounting. He has the principle ideology of crunching the numbers and analyzing the data, but can’t get off the couch because he’s too busy eating Halo Top ice cream while binge watching Netflix documentaries. With that aside The Calculator finds value in detailed planning, research and developmental skills.
When looking to collaborate with novel networking partners in unfamiliar business ventures his common theme is “fail to plan, plan to fail.” Or “Proceed with caution because you have no clue what you’re getting yourself into. Again.” Problem is that I don’t usually heed The Calculator’s advice until I’m in a position with no choice. I naturally tend towards the get up and get after mentality of The Initiator. Loads of initiative is great, but some life situations are like quicksand. The more you strain, the faster you sink. (By the way, I heard that quicksand doesn’t react in real life as it does in the movies)
So at this point on the maximum achievement journey, I have learned to respect both schools of thought of The Initiator and The Calculator. When being completely present and mindful in any situation I approach I can filter and extract relevant points from the both sides to integrate into my approach. This is the advice I would give to all of you self-starters out there that are aspiring to build things from the grassroots. Learn to find commonalities that work together from the opposing internal perspectives. Keep in mind that to do this, you have to create mental space at times to just observe without distractions. Also understand that everyone is different and we have adopted our tendencies through experience for either of these viewpoints. Some of us just naturally calculate and some of us just naturally initiate. They both have their place in the various approaches we take in life.
In all essence i just pray that in all of our pursuits we proceed with the fullness of the authentic self. May your inner coach be your guide and not your inner critic. To your success.