The wrong end of the oxen

I once heard a presentation that included a quotation from the beginning of Proverbs 14:4. That proverb reads, "Where there are no oxen, the manger is clean, but much revenue comes by the strength of the ox". Now, I want to zero in on the first 9 words of that proverb for a minute.

"Where there are no oxen, the manger is clean...."

So true. It is bad enough having to clean up after my dog in my backyard. (Though I confess that is my son's job). I am sure a few oxen in a stable could make quite the mess. But the point of the proverb is that to get to the value of the oxen (revenue) you have to put up with a little poop (troubles). There is a lot of the presentation that I heard that I no longer remember the details of. Except for this one lesson in which I recall vividly from time to time.

Consider this a new way to remember that anything worth having requires effort. If you are willing to work at it, you will reap benefits that you would otherwise not have. Sure, you don't have to keep oxen in the stable. However, when it comes to working in the field, the oxen make it possible to glean rewards magnitudes larger than if you were to harvest alone.

It amazes me how I zip through life at times expecting that things should come so easy to me. As though there is no opposite end to the oxen that I have to deal with, regardless of whatever it is that I may be engaging in. Then when I am faced with life's stable mess, I am surprised and frustrated by it. What if instead I just expected it, got out my shovel, took care of the mess and moved on. No frustration, only an understanding that I must care for the stable mess to experience the power of the oxen. What if instead I met the work with a smile knowing it is because I enjoy the benefits of the oxen that I get to clean the stable.

"Our fatigue is often caused not by work, but by worry, frustration and resentment"
- Dale Carnegie

The Classics

Humphrey Bogart, Jimmy Stewart and John Wayne are some of my all-time favorite actors. By today's standards, their movies aren't flashy with computerized special effects or budgets in the unheard of millions. They just brought raw classic acting to the screen. They were loved for their own styles, each different from one another. Yet all of them legendary leading men. Every now and then, I pop an old classic on and enjoy simpler times by the likes of films such as The Maltese Falcon, The Man who shot Liberty Valence, or El Dorado.

These days I myself occasionally feel like a classic. A throwback from days gone by. I am part of a startup community and I am over the age of 40 years old. This is counter culture to the entrepreneurs of today. There is an expected formula to follow for big box office hits and large startup successes today. My profile doesn't fit, simply because I am considered too old and haven't done it before now. Yet the actors I mentioned are considered iconic, even to this day. They are legends who proved themselves time and again to defy the odds in film after successful film.

• Humphrey Bogart was short and had a lisp, flunked out of Phillips Andover and didn't break into the A-list of actors until the age of 42. Yet in 1999, the American Film Institute named him the Greatest Male Star in cinematic history.
  
• Jimmy Stewart was a boyish-looking, skinny unlikely leading man some have referred to as even biographically boring. Yet he is one of the more highly decorated award winners in film history starring in more than 100 films and considered one of the more beloved leading male actors ever.
  
• John Wayne began his acting career as an injured football player losing his scholarship and with an unlikely screen name of Marion Morrison. However, he went on to act in a reported more than 175 films. His work on the Searchers has been singled out by filmmakers and actors alike as the greatest performance by an actor on film, ever. When you want to watch an epic western, there is no equal.
  

Each of these men in spite of their drawbacks were reportedly driven, hard-working men of high integrity. These men of the past are inspiring to me. They give me the courage to be my own self and take all of my own experience and pour it into the stage I am given. I may not hit it big right away. My first few startup efforts might not be blockbuster hits. However, perhaps with persistence my own Oscar awaits. I share the highly driven, hard-working and high integrity philosophy of these leading men. And if I am discarded by some because I do not fit the profile, I am all the more fueled to become a leading man in my own style just as these men did.

Potholes

Early morning is a great time for me to think. And this morning I was thinking about all of the many potholes the road to any worthwhile destination has. Every long road to a destination has twists and turns, but the twisting and turning continue to carry you forward towards your destination. Some might even find the turns exhilarating and full of excitement as they press the pedal even harder and lean into the curves.

But the potholes are a different story. They slow us down. The deeper ones are uncomfortable to move past. The ones some are faced with may even suggest you turn around, change your course, or even head back home. The thing about potholes are they came into being as a result of a road traveled before. Someone else pushed past this point, in fact many have. It was their tires who widened the hole and deepened the obstacle.

As I think about my own startup experience so far, I am reminded of the ups and downs. One day having leaned into a curve and the rush of the feeling coming out of it. Other days in which I rattled my self over a pothole and came out sour at the obstacle. I am reminded this morning to look beyond the road and at the scenery, and therefore gain enjoyment from the ride itself.