“We start with something meaningful. We start with something we are trying to build. Then the day begins, and suddenly our whole identity shifts from visionary to wildlife control.”

There’s a quote I love from Benjamin Zander: “I am here today to cross the swamp, not to fight all the alligators.”

It is an impactful concept for me, because if you’ve ever run a business in Atlantic Canada, you know the alligators well. Paperwork. Regulations. Rising costs. Staffing challenges. The email or phone call that starts with “I have a quick question.” (I’ll bet you don’t.) The vendor who swears the invoice is in the system. The customer who wants a “loyalty discount” but no discount on services.

And that’s all before noon.

I think we can agree that the heart of Zander’s line isn’t humour. It’s clarity, and clarity is something many of us struggle with somewhere around the third or fourth alligator.

We start with a mission. We start with something meaningful. We start with something we are trying to build. Then the day begins, and suddenly our whole identity shifts from visionary to wildlife control. It happens quietly, and to almost everyone.

Atlantic Canada has always been a place where people build things with limited resources. We innovate because we have to. We collaborate because no one survives alone. We show up, even when the storm says stay home.

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