Kozmic Kismet

"Don't compromise yourself.  It's all you've got " Janis Joplin

Women who leave secure jobs and leap into entrepreneurial waters are, in effect, marrying themselves.  They are divorcing 'The Man" to lead less compromised lives.  They make new vows.

Reflecting on nearly 20 years of entrepreneurial life, I feel richer in that my world expanded twenty fold.  Poorer, in that my safety net is gone -- so I don't look down. 

I've guided family members through sickness, without having to beg for time off.  My health has remained strong; fate and luck.

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Dr. Clarissa Pinkola Estes, in Women Who Run With the Wolves, reinterprets fairy tales that every entrepreneurial woman should heed.  Resist shiny red shoes; they are rescue fantasies -- Better to rely on your own creations.  Ugly ducklings can freeze to death in isolation; find your pack.  Like Bluebeard's bride, dare to unluck the forbidden door .

Running your own show requires a belief in something outside yourself; your north star beckons.  But who will help you bake the bread?  Others will step forward, but ultimately, you are all you've got.

We don't get do-overs in life, but what advice comes from our experiences?  To my 25-yr. old daughter, who eschewed a brief corporate life for starting her own horse magazine, I said "Do this if you must.  There is no greater joy than running your own show.  Marry yourself."