Take to the Oars

The crucial skill for navigating times of uncertainty

“If the wind will not serve, take to the oars” — Latin Proverb

If you visit Tradecraft, you’ll notice this quote hanging from the wall. It embodies a trait we witness time and again in the individuals who are most successful in our program and who go on to build amazing careers in Silicon Valley: resilience.

Why Resilience?

Learning new things is (and I believe, should be) an uncomfortable process. It involves trying things out, making mistakes, and trying again with only slightly better information.

When we’re not employing resilience and roadblocks arise it is easy to fall into an “axe-murderer narrative” — seeking something or someone to blame for our setbacks.

“The client couldn’t appreciate my design ideas.” “I bet that reporter didn’t read my email.” “My prospects never returned my calls.” “The code had bugs.”

and so on…

This type of thinking prevents us from taking responsibility for a situation. It traps us into the belief that we do not have control over the outcome– the start of a dangerous cycle.