DeepDive: Independence Day
By: Logan Higuera
Tags: Startup, America, Entrepreneur, American Dream, Entrepreneurship

Photo by Aaron Burden on Unsplash

We just celebrated Independence Day, the holiday many Americans would agree is the most important day in the history of our nation. It is important to reflect on what this day means for our country and for Americans as humans. This day represents the date where we declared independence from Great Britain. Over a century before that, the founding of America was arguably the biggest exploration event in history.

The reason I am talking about this, and why it relates to business and entrepreneurship is that exploration and discovery has long been one of the unique motivations of humans as opposed to any other species. For whatever unknown reason, we are curious beings that want to find new things. Going back in history, before the modern day we now know, exploring the world and finding new places was the most noble and adventurous thing that someone could do.

When we think about it retrospectively, explorers were really the entrepreneurs of their time. Those individuals had a vision of a desired world, and saw the opportunity of discovering it. They built a team, and made plans, and pulled together resources to make that dream become a reality. That is all that entrepreneurs do right? We simply dream up a better situation and figure out how to bring it to life.

Now, it is also good to note that before America was ever discovered, and before Christopher Columbus decided to put together his expedition, there were certainly other people who dreamed of finding an unknown place. What separates Columbus from everyone else before him, was a perfect combination of luck and determination.

Starting with luck, we can imagine that there had to have been other explorers with a similar dream and opportunity. But for some reason they never made it. Maybe their ship got swallowed by the sea, or they lost direction in a storm, or the tides simply took them on the wrong path. Regardless, they never made it because luck wasn’t on their side. And this is always going to be the case with everything we do. There will always be a level of luck and timing that plays into the outcome of success.

But we cannot discredit what Columbus did to successfully discover our great nation. He started with a dream, just like any entrepreneur or explorer, he believed in something that was not yet tangible. With that dream he was able to build a story, and translate it into something that could inspire others to believe with him. Through that story he was able to define a plan of action. Leading him to build a worthy crew, acquire boats, supplies, funding, and all kinds of different support. All of which was necessary to even embark on this journey.

Through intense planning and preparation they increased the chance of success. Still though, they didn’t even know if there was anything to discover, and you can imagine that during the more than 2 months of sailing, plenty went wrong, and the spirits of the crew were challenged. But they were determined and believed in a vision that was bigger than all of them combined. A world of equal opportunity for all. A country built off the idea of exploration.

That is what has always made America so great! The fact that this country was founded with the understanding that dreams are possible and that people can do whatever it is we put our minds to. So with that, I would like to say that being an American is a great luxury. We are blessed to live in a country where opportunities are endless and innovation is infinite.

We all have the ability to be explorers through entrepreneurship. Just make sure to embark on ventures that you truly believe in, and are willing to risk it all for. It is never guaranteed that you will reach the destination, but if the destination does exist, then you will only get there through committing to what you believe in.