November 26, 2023
I know all too well that the more controversial a headline reads, the more likely people are to click with curiosity. That was not lost on the title of this piece, and while this is not 100% true, getting involved often does bear fruitless trees. I have been involved with various organizations and groups, some of which garnered fruit, others more than not left me with compost. Compost in the way of what I learned that I may apply later in life. I do try to look at every experience as fodder for life experience, storytelling, and conversational knowledge.
More recently, I found myself in the den of a would-be narcissist at an organization I put a reasonable amount of time into trying to make better. I say ‘would be’, because I am no psychologist, however this assumption is based on research and past experience. What is curious is, if you do ‘get involved’ somewhere, you are almost certain to find a narcissist in the shadows. They are a fickle beast, hard to pin down and define for sure. When I seek a definition, I find this: ‘People who have an unreasonably high sense of their own importance. Now ponder that for a moment… I mean, read it again and digest it.
I call Bullshit! Here is my observational catch, and this is where I may also be using the wrong diagnosis, but diagnosis aside, this personality type lives and breaths among us. My assessment is, they actually seem to loath themselves, so much so they will tear anyone around them down to make themselves feel better. So in essence, if they make you look bad or find a flaw in you, then they feel better about themselves because they aren’t as flawed as YOU. It’s akin to Jekyll and Hyde, but more in a spiral vortex, a mind game of tornado-like proportions. I am not sure if I am appalled or impressed with the circle of confusion they can conjure on a regular basis. To me, it’s akin to driving every road haphazardly, zig-zagging, blowing through stop lights and signs, driving over grass and sidewalks, through playgrounds, and still getting there on time without nary a warning, and somehow it looks like they obeyed the laws. They never apologize for their behavior as well, and they do this on a regular basis, the way the rest of us travel roads as we should, except we get a ticket for rolling through the stop sign. The extension of this is the people who don’t, can’t, or won’t see it. This is where I am left gobsmacked, and I am not sure if that is because of the skillful expertise of the narcissist or the chosen ignorance of the loyalist. That a narcissist will convince their flock that they are so important and do so much that they are indispensable and possibly have earned a throne made of the bodies of the flock. It is truly fascinating in the way that watching a car crash is riveting, you pray they don’t collide, you know it’s inevitable, you want to look away, watch, and help at the same time, yet all actions are futile.
So what does this have to do with entrepreneurialism? Everything and Nothing! Ok, I said that because it sounds cool, but well, it’s kinda true. As an entrepreneur, you need experiences of success and failure to understand how ‘IT’ is going to work. You need life experience, and whether you get this experience in the beginning, middle, or end of your venture, this experience will surely find its way into your life. Navigating it will be more challenging than finding capital, researching patents, and seeking a manufacturer. Best case is you have the option to walk away or say NO! Worst case is the narcissist embeds themselves in your venture, bedbugs come to mind with that statement, think about it…think about it. Yep, that’s kinda what it’s like, the Oh Shit! Factor, how do I get rid of this invader? So get out there, expose yourself to bedbugs, err opportunities to get involved and learn from others about others, but possibly and arguably expose yourself to the worst possibility, so you have some sense of how to navigate it when it’s your venture that is under siege.
Musings of a Film Entrepreneur
I am a freelance Cinematographer, who woke up one day to realize I am an entrepreneur!