George Orwell, Entrepreneurship, and Me

Entrepreneurship in the Fog

In these troubled times, it is difficult to find one’s bearings.

Soaring energy prices, evaporating investments, political uncertainty, war in the distance… everything is conspiring right now to cause anxiety even for the most serene entrepreneur.

If I were to make a bold metaphor, I’d say that with the current economic climate, we can’t see further than the end of our noses.

Businesses are closing left and right. Unemployment is on the rise again.

What could reassure us amidst this tumultuous fog?

The Lesson of George Orwell

One person who didn’t ask himself these kinds of questions was George Orwell, the author of 1984.

Certainly, Orwell was not an entrepreneur; he was a writer. But is it really that different?

I am currently reading his biography (Georges Orwell, a Life). He is my favorite author, for his most famous novel, 1984, but also for Animal Farm, his novella which foreshadowed the betrayal and ignominy of Stalinism, which he was among the first to denounce in Western Europe.

Many pages for a rather brief but full life, and above all, an astonishing trajectory.

The Choice of Fieldwork and Integrity

Orwell was not one of those who walk in a straight line.

Nor was he one of those who flee from the harsh realities of existence.

In turn a policeman, a tramp, then a soldier in Spain during the civil war, he ended up a writer, which is what he had always wanted to be deep down.

Orwell was not a liar, nor a pretender, and he wasn’t one to preen himself in drawing rooms. He always lived far from civilization, in his small house or on his farm… without seeking the limelight of his fame.

He was a man of integrity, fully in line with his values, and he was not afraid to disown his political friends when they betrayed their ideals. A socialist he was, but a true, sincere one, not interested in power, repulsed by imperialism, imperialisms of all kinds (from the British Empire to that of the USSR, including Germany).

Instinctively, I have always loved all the George Orwells of the world… those who are not afraid to experiment, to confront the field, to search, to hesitate, to rise in society by the sheer strength of their own efforts…

Orwell had not pursued university studies… he had chosen to confront life as quickly as possible, undoubtedly considering that only this could sufficiently nourish him as a writer in search of material for his novels.

The Writer as Entrepreneur

It was in this sense that he was an entrepreneur.

To produce his work, he spent his life seeking out stories, lives, and narratives in the world that he could not find at university.

His story is one of an incessant quest, made of trials, failures, unfruitful research, obstinacy, conviction… all qualities inherent to entrepreneurs… to those who do not primarily seek comfort and tranquility, but those who have a deep-seated conviction that they can change things and who do everything to achieve it, regardless of their social success.

Ironically, it took him several years to find recognition and a few more years before finding success, only to die suddenly afterward, without having been able to enjoy it.

Staying the Course in the Storm

I hope not to die like him after finding success, but Orwell reminds me every day that this is nothing; what matters is what one does during their lifetime, and the conviction one has to move forward, that one can truly bring something to others, to the world. For me, it is this strength, this self-belief that makes an entrepreneur, that allows us to move forward, to keep our spirits up in the storm, and especially during these lean times when game (leads) are scarce and we can’t see the end of the road, when uncertainty is around every corner…

For me, it’s about being able to keep moving forward, to keep making plans, to be able to tell myself that by dint of searching, I will eventually stumble upon a gem… it’s this quest that sustains me… this hope of telling myself that our work will inevitably pay off one day and that we will maintain our freedom to undertake, no matter what happens.

I read 1984 when I was 11, and that novel has stayed with me ever since… I didn’t really know why… today, I understand. It’s because in that book, I undoubtedly met a man whose desires, character, and way of confronting what surrounds us, I shared.

It took me over 40 years, but now I know who I can rely on when things go wrong and I need reassurance.

I hadn’t had a role model, as they say these days, until now… I think I’ve finally found him.