Entrepreneurship: Can You Afford to Put All Your Eggs in One Basket?
Thomas Jefferson said: “Our greatest happiness does not depend on the condition of life in which chance has placed us, but is always the result of a good conscience, good health, occupation, and freedom in all just pursuits.”
This has been one of my favorite quotes since I was a teenager and to this day. Jefferson believed true happiness is not determined by external circumstances, wealth or social status but by internal factors within our control. I didn’t grow up poor, but my parents were not wealthy, more middle class. They lived a better life than their parents. I owe everything to them for putting my interest in technology and the internet first.
For many adults without savings or financial support from family, a single job or business failure can be disastrous. That’s why we diversify our income streams through part-time jobs, startups or ventures in completely unrelated fields. It’s about survival and reducing one’s exposure to catastrophic risk.
This does not imply that one group works harder than the other—both face different challenges. But the consequences of failure are much worse for those without a financial buffer which often forces them to hold on to their full-time jobs longer.
