I spent my weekend at Enterprise North East Scotland’s Enterprise Challenge 2014.  The Enterprise Challenge is an annual even for people from Grampian and Tayside who are aged 18-30 and either run their own business, are starting up their own business or are interested in starting up their own business in the future, and poses participants with a series of physical and mental challenges to replicate the emotional rollercoaster of self employment.  I’m not going to tell you what shenanigans we got up to, just in case you fancy having a go yourself, instead I am going to share with you (just a few of) the lessons that I have learnt.

1. I am a heck of a lot more scared of heights than I originally thought I was.
2. You can take two people who are polar opposites to each other in every respect imaginable, throw them together and watch something beautiful happen. Epiphanies.  Epiphanies leading to conscious efforts to change not for the sake of peace, but for development of self.
3. You can take the person out of the city, but you can’t take the city out of the person.
4. It’s not a problem, it’s a challenge and an opportunity.
5. Even the most solitary person can find a home in the right group of people.
6. Do it.  You think it sounds great? Do it and find out if you’re right.  You think it sounds like most awful thing ever? Do it anyway and let yourself be proved wrong. Don’t hesitate. Don’t ‘take time to think about it’. Do it.
7. Tiredness is the difference between developmental debate and sparring argument.  Sleep now, work later, achieve more.
8. Even the worst bruises fade faster than the feelings and the memories attached to them.
9. The comfort zone is for wusses.