Written by: Garett Martyn, Executive Contributor
Executive Contributors at Brainz Magazine are handpicked and invited to contribute because of their knowledge and valuable insight within their area of expertise.
Nothing screams “entrepreneur” like rollin’ up to a brand-new city in the same, shitty, suicidal car that you’ve had since high school while having no practical clue as to what you’re gonna do.
For example: Where are you gonna live? How are you gonna make an income? How are you gonna eat? Where are you gonna poop? How are you gonna get squeaky clean? How are you gonna react in an emergency situation if one was to arise? How are you gonna create relationships with friends, clients, and potential business partners who are friendly, trustworthy, accountable, and holistically healthy?
Honestly, as I write this article in one of Vancouver’s public libraries, which is thankfully equipped with a high-quality air-conditioning system, while trying to survive a minor heatwave, along with continuously attempting to seek a clean aired refuge from the unrelenting smoke that blankets various parts of the province of British Columbia due to the overabundant forest fire season, I actually don’t have a clue as to what I’m gonna do.
All I know is that I am going to succeed. And I’m going to enjoy myself while doing so.
But here is some insight into what I’ve learned so far in regards to being homeless and how it relates to entrepreneurship.
But before we begin, I’d like to make it crystal clear that I most certainly do not fit into any category where you would find your typical homeless person in Vancouver, BC, Canada. I am young, fit, healthy, and capable of doing so many activities and jobs that will grant me somewhat of a safe asylum in this beautiful yet mentally disruptive metropolitan asylum. I have a slick n’ rusty-looking go-kart which is safe enough for me to get from point A to B and possibly C. In addition to that, it has a working A/C unit which gives me a cool and secure shelter during some of the worst weather that the region has to offer, along with the added security to holistically protect my most essential belongings and myself while I sleep or happen to go out and about throughout the city. I don’t like to drink alcohol or do street drugs, so it’s a lot easier for me to stay away from the worst that Vancouver has to offer. And, at this point in time, I’m highly allergic to “pussy-cats”, so I do my absolute best to stay far away from them, even the most phenomenal looking ones, if you know what I mean?
And on top of it all, lets all not forget the most important aspect which most differentiates me from all the other homeless people as well; I hold the ownership key and the legal rights to the greatest brand in the history of humanity, and quite possibly the entire universe. And that brand is called Holistiworld.
This fact alone completely separates me from the rest of the unfortunate pack.
This fact alone helps me stay cool, calm, and collected no matter what kind of holistic chaos may arise.
This fact alone puts me in a highly egotistical yet humble position to holistically educate all you highly fortunate people on how being homeless ironically and inevitably helps entrepreneurs from all walks of life.
So, before we really get into it, I’d like to paint a mental picture of another random human being who is considering to either self-employ themselves or be the team leader of a small group of people. It doesn’t really matter which one they choose to be. Either way, our specific entrepreneur will have to develop certain skills. Like developing a strong sense of empathy for everyone they choose to do business with. This is because employees, customers, and everyday people come in all shapes and sizes and also come from different backgrounds. That will make every interaction unique. Add to it the inevitable stress that comes from having their life in a mess, and they will soon discover that it is very difficult to lead themselves to success, let alone a group of people in need of a stable-minded leader.
So, for starters, I’d like to blatantly point out that being homeless is quite simply a humbling and awakening way of life. It teaches the aspiring entrepreneur that life isn’t just all about paying bills, being squeaky clean, and being a nice boy or girl. It will quickly and possibly quite harshly teach the aspiring entrepreneur that life, more or less, is about doing what’s best for themselves so that others can watch, learn, and take mental and physical notes on how to proceed to do whatever seems best for themselves as well.
This is but the most natural cycle of life that the modern world tries so hard to deny, cover-up, or misconstrue altogether. Once they are in a classically unfortunate position in life, such as not knowing where they’re going to get their next meal or not being able to escape the elements such as the blistering heat or heavy smoke, they will begin to fall into a mental state known as “survival mode”. Survival mode is not a good mental state for any entrepreneur. It’s pretty much the exact opposite of the mental state needed for complete individual or group success. They will begin to find it difficult to trust themselves and others and will have to proactively seek new ways to keep themselves, as well as the entire (possible) group of employees, safe, healthy, and in a state of balance.
So, in respect of time, let's get right into our example story, and let’s just say that our example entrepreneur doesn’t seem to be off to a great start…
But remember folks:
It really can get a whole lot worse.
And I really do mean that…
Now, imagine, our poor little entrepreneur and their small group of employees were all evicted from their office space in Calgary, AB, Canada, and were now homeless, or better yet, office-less in Vancouver, BC, Canada. Our entrepreneur was finally beginning to figure things out for themselves and their small group of employees. They even found a local library where they could charge their electronic tools while simultaneously benefitting from all that free Wi-Fi to complete their menial and complex tasks. When suddenly… It’s payday!
Oh, the horror!
What will our poor little entrepreneur do?
How are they going to pay themselves and their small group of employees on time, if they spent most, if not all their money just getting themselves out to a brand-new city in search of new opportunities?
The answer would be: Go start a side hustle!
Now, I (Mr. Garett) am somehow educated enough to know that it's never good to “assume” because it can easily make an (ass) out of (u) and (me), but let’s all assume for just a brief moment that our poor little entrepreneur has a fully functional pair of arms and legs. I (Mr. Garett) would politely suggest that our poor little entrepreneur go and do one or two of the following so that they can get the money required to pay themselves and their employees just in the nick of time before payday so that no one starves to death. Because lets face it, that’s obviously just a terrific example of poor human resource management and probably goes against the companies HR Policy.
To be blunt, it just looks downright horrible when all of your employees die of starvation or from overexposure to the elements. I (Mr. Garett) believe that our poor little entrepreneur can do at least a bit better. So, anyways, I (Mr. Garett) would politely suggest that our poor, little, hungry entrepreneur go and either (a) find a quick part-time job such as cutting someone’s grass with scissors, or (b) go walk around the city of Vancouver and collect bottles to then go exchange those for money at the bottle depot. I (Mr. Garett) prefer option (b) because it not only makes for a good story and allows our protagonist to better learn the geography of the city, but our poor little, hungry entrepreneur will be acquiring a great deal of good karma for helping clean up our planet while hustlin’ their lil’ tushy off to get that chedda’!
This is why I (Mr. Garett) always say: “Anything can happen on Holistiworld”.
Now, at this point in time, things are lookin’ real good for everyone involved. The journey to the new destination was a success, and the employees have been paid and fed. However, there are always more problems to arise, as that’s the norm on Holistiworld.
Then, outta nowhere, with no explanation, rhyme, or reasonable reason, a ginormous black hole opens up, and aliens begin to invade the entire planet because they want to.
What is our entrepreneur going to do now?
The not-so-obvious answer to that obvious question would be:
Scream and cry for help, and hopefully, Godzilla or maybe even Batman will come and save everyone from the super mean, evil aliens.
Unfortunately, Godzilla is sleeping and Batman is on a date with Wonder Woman.
So, it’s up to our entrepreneurs to save themselves, along with everyone else in their company and the entire planet. And it’s not even noon.
This is where it gets exciting. This is where the magic happens. This is where we, as readers, get to witness the climactic character development of our entrepreneur as they defy all odds and go far above and beyond the call of duty to do what is necessary to survive in hopes of achieving the opportunity to one day thrive.
And so, our entrepreneur runs around the city like a maniac, searching for someone who looks like they can form a mutually beneficial relationship with, then again, outta nowhere, with no explanation, rhyme, or reasonable reason, they see a high-ranking commander of the Royal Canadian Space Force eating a well-rounded brunch of Timbits and espresso at a Tim Hortons across the street.
Our entrepreneur decides to run across the street towards the high-ranking commander and break through the restaurant glass using their shoulder as a battering ram. Out of sheer surprise and natural reflexes, the high-ranking commander suddenly jolts himself and spills espresso all over the front of his majestic uniform as he looks in horror at our entrepreneur brushing the shards of glass off of their shoulder.
Our entrepreneur quickly defuses the visibly upset high-ranking commander and explains the alien invasion situation to the best of their ability.
Fast forward approximately 20-35 minutes and our entrepreneur and the high-ranking commander felt a strong connection between each other and are now best of friends. They discover that the general manager of the Tim Hortons is also best friends with Godzilla and Batman because they all went to the same elementary school together.
So, the general manager of Tim Hortons calls Godzilla and Batman on a private cellphone that looks almost too similar to the kind of cell phone that all the neighborhood drug dealers tend to use. But that didn’t matter. What mattered was that both Godzilla and Batman both answered, and that they were both stopping whatever it was that they were originally doing to come and save the day, if not the entire planet.
So now, we got our entrepreneur, along with a high-ranking commander of the Royal Canadian Space Force, a general manager of a Tim Hortons, Godzilla, and last but certainly not least, Batman, all using their unique entrepreneurial skills to build healthy relationships and prevent a collective issue from manifesting into a collective disaster.
AKA: Entrepreneurship
Then, they realized that Godzilla will probably be able to handle the entire situation just fine on his own. So, the four of them walk back inside of the Tim Hortons restaurant with the broken window to kick back and relax as they casually take slow sips on some nice warm cups of hot chocolate, while watching Godzilla destroy all the evil alien spacecraft and peacefully re-submerge himself back into the deep blue sea.
And they all lived happily ever after… For a bit.
Now, in the end, our entrepreneur found complete success in the situation. They did what needed to be done to take themselves, their business, and their employees to the next level. They created new sources of income to put food on the table for themselves and for their employees. Learned the local geography of the new location that they now inhabited. Created lifelong connections. Stopped a random alien invasion. And resolved the most basic day-to-day issues that come from running a business. All while being homeless, or, office-less.
And that’s how being homeless helps entrepreneurs.
Garett Martyn, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine
Mr. Garett is the creator and founder of Holistiworld, Inc. A holistic company that aims at researching and developing the mind, body, and spirit through the Holistic Disciplines: to enhance holistic education and holistic healthcare while reducing extreme greed and mass global exploitation. He can be found teaching the ways of the Holistic Disciplines at Holistiskool, selling holistic products at Holistimart, or writing monthly holistic newsletters for Holistinewz, as well as planning and executing all kinds of private operations and shenanigans, affectionately known as Holistic-Ops. This arrangement also provides a large network of holistic connections related to the newest trends, sciences, and the arts. By uniting and refining our Holistic Disciplines, the Holistiworld brand helps to create a more prosperous world than what has been previously prophesied. Holistically we are strong. Holistically disciplined, we are stronger.
