Column: Be the captain of your soul

I am not an entrepreneur. I've never moved my own widgets or -- as far as I know -- had a so-called million-dollar idea. Call me a non-trepreneur.

But after learning a bit about people who do start businesses, I decided to see what would happen if I tried acting like one. What happened was I bought a bicycle.

We tend to celebrate entrepreneurs for their courage, ambition and determination -- and rightly so. Starting a business is a radical exercise in personal agency; each one a case-study in achievement. To that end, Codefi co-founder Chris Carnell quoted William Ernest Henley's poem "Invictus":

"I am the master of my fate; I am the captain of my soul."

But what does that look like on the ground level? I more admire the practical steps entrepreneurs take to achieve their objectives. Some are small steps. Others seem obvious. But I found something as simple as articulating a goal can be liberating.

My goal was to bring a neglected road bike back to life. I imagined having to pitch the project to investors and identify potential obstacles. Do I have enough time and resources? What tools do I need? How do bikes work?

Successful entrepreneurs -- or at least the ones who populate my favorite books and podcasts -- talk about things like decisiveness, commitment and creativity. Employing those principles along with hours of YouTube tutorials, I tore my new bike to pieces.

I'd like to say I succeeded and that I'm actually riding it right now. But the truth is, I'm only about halfway to getting that bad boy back on the road.

Maybe I, like the majority of startups, will fail. Hopefully not, though. I paid, like, 80 bucks for that bike.

But regardless, I have enjoyed thinking like an entrepreneur. Or at least trying to.

This issue is dedicated to our local ones. Our hope is that you too can learn something of use from them.

And whether your goal is to launch an app or paint the guest room, be the captain of your soul.

Or at least pretend to be.