It takes a team, a vision, and it makes a culture

It takes a team, a vision, and it makes a culture.

I had a spontaneous idea today.  I thought it would be a great idea to hunt for morel mushrooms – something I had never done before.  What a great idea!  I thought I’d try it while I took a break from the computer work I was stuck in all day.  I didn’t really know what I was doing and I didn’t really know where to look, but I figured it couldn’t be too hard.  Or could it?   I assumed my passion to hunt morels would compensate for my lack of knowledge.

After the first thousand mosquito bites and absolutely no luck, I decided to get on my phone and Google where morel mushrooms could be found.  It sounds silly now, but for some reason I assumed I was just going to aimlessly wander into a patch of morels or something.  I finally found a website that gave incredibly practical advice for new mushroom hunters; advice that would have come in handy before the mosquitos had almost eaten me alive.  Come to find out, the website said that morels are found in certain locations throughout the progressing stages of their growing season.  That would have been nice to know ahead of time.  Another thing the website suggested was the use of mosquito spray.  It said that because morel season is in the spring, people tend to forget about mosquitos and their need for repellent until it’s too late.  It was too late!  The website also suggested morel hunting as a unique and recreational way to spend time with friends.  It makes sense I guess, but I’ve never really had that thought cross my mind before.  Besides, deciding to go was a last second thing. 

I walked around for over an hour with absolutely no luck.  After another thousand mosquito bites, I was irritated and itchy, but I wasn’t going to give up quite that easy.  Then, after running into a thorn bush and also having felt and picked off a pesky deer tick that crawled up my leg, I called it quits and started my way back to the car.  For some strange reason, morel hunting wasn’t interesting anymore.  

How many people fall prey to this sort of trap?  You set out by yourself and think you can succeed because you have an idea you’re passionate about.  New ideas and big passions can make you feel so incredible, they can consume you and make you think that what you’ve set out to do is the only thing worth doing.  The passion that comes with a new idea can be so intoxicating; it can make you feel as if you’re the only one in existence.  If you pursue your new idea without preparation, you’ll have a long journey ahead of you.  And if you attempt it by yourself, you’ll soon come to find out that it won’t matter how much passion you once had; you’ll find out that your intense passion will fade and your original idea will become incredibly unattractive. 

It only takes a little bit of time, empty hands, some mosquito bites, and a pesky tick before you find yourself heading back to the car while thinking to yourself, “That was a dumb idea.”  That is, until you get back to your car and hear four enthusiastic friends talk with one another about the fifteen pounds of morels they just found on their excursion.  Apparently, they thought it was a really good idea.  Well, good for them.  I’d have fun too if I found that many morels.  

The thing is, even if those four friends didn’t find any morels, they probably would have found a way to have fun anyway.  It's not always about the morels.

The smallest situations can teach the greatest lessons.

Failing from unpreparedness is unproductive.

Winning from unpreparedness is counterproductive.

Failing despite preparedness is productive.

Winning from preparedness is glorious.

Winning alone isn't gratifying,
But failing alone is intolerable.

Failing with friends isn’t all that bad,

But winning with friends is a freaking party.

Being alone isn’t enough.

Original ideas aren’t enough. 

Intense passions won’t be enough.

It takes a team instead of just an individual. 

It takes a vision instead of just an idea. 

It takes a culture instead of a short-lived passion.

It takes a team, a vision, and it makes a culture. 

If you’re with friends it'll be worth it, regardless of whether you win or lose.

I want to be part of that kind of culture.

Does anybody want to go hunt morels with me?