January 12, 2025

If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings
And never breathe a word about your loss…
…Yours is the Earth and everything that’s in it.

-From the poem “If—” by Rudyard Kipling


If you lost everything today, what would you do next?

This is a question I proposed in 2023 using the Rudyard Kipling poem as a backdrop to the “Entrepreneur’s Credo.”

But I was reminded of it today—considering the catastrophic fires raging in Los Angeles, California—and it allowed me to reflect (albeit clumsily and without a solution) on “loss” of a different kind.

Way beyond business and entrepreneurship because this also involves life and death.

Every disaster deserves our attention…and not as something akin to rubbernecking on the highway (i.e. “it’s hard to turn away from a car crash”).

We need to pay attention as fellow humans…and search for empathy for the victims.

This one hits home in a particularly profound way because it is so random, the fires seemed to have come without warning…and to date, there is no single “cause” (not unlike a devastating hurricane, tornado or earthquake)

And it has displaced thousands of people with nowhere to go.

It was a “perfect storm” that is anything but perfect.

I’m grasping for some meaning…and please read this post as my attempt to make even a little sense from it.

And I encourage your thoughts as well.



Abundance over scarcity

The definition of abundance takes on an entirely new meaning when you lose your home and all your possessions.

Abundance becomes love…family…friends.

Intangible things…but more precious.

And being abundantly thankful that you are still above ground and breathing.

But that is of little solace for those affected by the fires…which happened by no fault of their own…which is very different from an entrepreneur taking a “…risk…on one turn of pitch-and-toss, and lose, and start again at [their] beginnings…”

The former are victims of circumstance; the latter are victims of their own making.

I can’t imagine the pain…despite resilience being a secret weapon…but that’s easy for me to say not being in the line of fire (literally).

Success as an entrepreneur hinges on mindset, not money.

I guess that’s true for all humans…but “losing everything” is a sliding scale…and the victims of the fires put that scale in a different category.

In this case, if you can somehow position money, material wealth and possessions being about “the past,” with relationships, resources, experiences and wisdom representing the present and the future (as the most powerful, portable assets that stay with you forever), that could be one of many coping mechanisms…and possibly a road map to your next chapter.

But these are only words about mindset…living it is entirely different.

Kipling’s line about risking all your winnings and lose it on “one turn of pitch-and-toss” (which in entrepreneur-speak is “a spectacular idea that was only a spectacular idea at the time”) speaks to rebounding from failed ideas without dwelling on the loss—crucial to keep you on the right path.

But what about when all your “winnings” are simply stripped from you by an act of God?

Rebounding takes on a different meaning.

I’m grasping for something here as my own coping mechanism…and I encourage you to share your take…your feedback…and your wisdom with me.



Getting back on the horse

I went back to this post from 2023 looking for some angles to help me—and you—deal with the current disaster.

And trying to use failed entrepreneurial ventures as a comparison seemed a bit flimsy…but there are parallels.

For many successful entrepreneurs (who’ve lost money or time on a failed venture), losing everything is a setback—but if you’re breathing, you haven’t truly lost it all.

With the right mindset and toolkit, setbacks are just challenges that can turn into opportunities.

No failures, only lessons. You win or you learn.

Take what’s valuable—relationships, resources, wisdom—and leave the rest behind.

Is this advice applicable when you lose your home and all your possessions unexpectedly and without warning?

I believe it is.

But after a grieving period…and a reset.

And it’s clearly far more devastating and will take a lot longer when you are not responsible for the tragedy.



Sharing your hero’s journey…or keep it to yourself?

Kipling’s advice to “never breathe a word about our loss” contrasts with many entrepreneurial (specifically marketing) stories we hear today.

Many wear their failures like a badge of honor, repeating them often.

And I understand why they do it.

To “never breathe a word about your loss” isn’t about hiding it out of embarrassment; it’s more about humility and not using it as a crutch.

At least that’s how I interpret Kipling on this aspect of loss.

I think he is suggesting that staying silent about adversity shows true strength and humility, letting your character speak louder than your struggles.

Sharing your hero’s journey can falter when compared to a “superior” story—one of greater despair that ultimately achieved even more.

The fear could also be that it may spark a needless “I’ve overcome more than you” competition.

I can’t play that game because my journey feels too boring—I’ve never gone bankrupt or gone to jail.

However, writing about my near fatal stroke as a “loss” (bankruptcy or jail looks better than THAT) makes me feel guilty considering Kipling’s view on strength and humility.

I think the notion of sharing or not sharing your calamities as an entrepreneur is a choice…and I think I come out on Kipling’s side…to share less and do more.

That is, keeping it to yourself, lowering your expectations, keeping your head down and working harder is a preferred prescription…especially if sharing is only to brag about your comeback or to exploit others.

It can work as motivation to bring you back…but it shouldn’t be a convenient excuse when you experience additional failure (i.e. learning).

Regarding the California fires, I have the opposite view:

Breathing (speaking) about your loss when you are blameless—as is the case with the victims of the fires—is far more appropriate…so others can try to empathize about similar uncontrollable loss in their own lives…which will inspire them to reach out in whatever ways they can to help.

It’s the best we can do.

Watching the interviews with the victims who have lost everything is painful…to them and us…but it is a path to understanding more profoundly what they are going through at least.

I don’t know how they do it, however.

It is a version of courage that needs to be acknowledged…which I am trying to do here.

I love the expression, “Who will have your back when you are on your back?”

You probably have some idea how to answer that question (i.e your “go-to people” when you really need help and support)…but you can’t possibly know everyone who might have your back.

The human race is full of surprises.

That’s why you need to declare loud and often when you are truly on your back.



I don’t know if this post is “appropriate” for addressing the current horrific events in California…nothing really is…but I felt the need to acknowledge the pain of those affected…which becomes our collective pain as well.

Kipling’s poem is one way to recognize and attempt to “negotiate” the horror…but I still feel helpless (as I’m sure many of you do too).

If nothing else, it’s a reminder to remember what is most important… which goes far beyond material things.

But loss is still loss.



Warmly,



Brian



P.S. Below is the full version of Kipling’s poem…use it to reflect on your life…and the lives you touch.

The last time I shared it, there was an outpouring of comments and epiphanies from my online family…and I hope that happens again.

Especially in light of the current tragedy…and all tragedies…whether of our own creation or from the natural world.

I even learned through that correspondence that Muhammad Ali, “The Greatest,” carried the poem in his pocket.

And I want to let anyone know who is reading this who has been affected by the Southern California fires—directly or indirectly—that we are all thinking about you…and in the words of Kipling:

…hold on when there is nothing in you…Except the Will which says to them: ‘Hold on!’



If–

If you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you,
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,
But make allowance for their doubting too;
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or being lied about, don’t deal in lies,
Or being hated, don’t give way to hating,
And yet don’t look too good, nor talk too wise:

If you can dream—and not make dreams your master;
If you can think—and not make thoughts your aim;
If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster
And treat those two impostors just the same;
If you can bear to hear the truth you’ve spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken,
And stoop and build ’em up with worn-out tools:

If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings
And never breathe a word about your loss;
If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them: ‘Hold on!’

If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
Or walk with Kings—nor lose the common touch,
If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you,
If all men count with you, but none too much;
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds’ worth of distance run,
Yours is the Earth and everything that’s in it,
And—which is more—you’ll be a Man, my son!

About the author 

Brian Kurtz

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