False Idol

If humanity does not opt for integrity we are through completely. It is absolutely touch and go. Each one of us could make the difference.
-Buckminster Fuller

I had an interesting day. I lost one hero, got to chat with another, and rethought my whole life story.


I started the first draft of this essay mentioning how Deni Leonard, a semi-famous Native American entrepreneur, was the inspiration for my own hero’s journey. He found his life calling; dedicated five years of study each to banking, insurance, education, and law; and finally, after 20 years, began solving the problems of his people.

Then I Googled him. I found that he had recently been convicted of some rather serious corporate fraud. My heart sunk. Not only because he wasn’t who I thought he was, but also because it made me call into question my whole approach to my own calling, an approach I modeled after his.

Reeling, I decided I had to ask best-selling author Po Bronson what he thought of this. Po wrote What Should I Do with My Life?, dedicating the final chapter to Deni’s story (written pre-fraud). Incredibly, Po immediately wrote me back a long, thoughtful email. He said, “I do know tons of other entrepreneurs who are doing well, who are creating value, by embracing their identity and their culture…But I don’t think a fictional Deni-like idea should be our vision, because when it's fictional one misses crucial lessons.”

Too late. I’m already halfway through my Deni-like plan. But I created this plan too, and I’m proud of it. I spent countless hours listening to my heart, carving away the unimportant to discover (create, choose) my calling, which is to fix our broken planet and way of living on it while (if) there’s still time, using the most fun and effective leverage I can muster. I spent the last decade honing the first of the skills I’d need on my journey: writing and entrepreneurship, with ecology and leadership on deck. I’ve already won and lost many battles, learned my own crucial lessons, and made countless mid-course corrections along the way.

Deni Leonard doesn’t have a patent on discipline. His hero’s journey may be fictional, but mine is true. I’m strong enough to own my own vision and forge my own path, regardless of the ethics of the person who first showed me the way.

(This blog post was originally written as one of my Acton MBA in Entrepreneurship application essays.)