Carter here.

In the spirit of SNL’s Deep Thoughts by Jack Handy, I’d like to share an interesting word I just ran across—“proprioception.” Literally, it means an awareness of the position of one’s own body. Figuratively, it can beg an examination of some worthwhile questions such as: “Am I self-aware right now? Am I well-oriented to the situational context in which I find myself? Am I in touch with what I’m projecting to others?” The word makes me think of being both the participant & observer simultaneously—having a healthy detachment from the moment, as I’m experiencing the moment. (This is stuff the Buddhists and Stoics advise us to do to maintain our equanimity.) Huh?—earth to Carter—what does this have to do with entrepreneurship? Here’s just one example of its application…In my venture capital job, on quite a few occasions, I’m at the receiving end of a pitch where entrepreneurs deliver a Phil Spector Wall-of-Sound monolog, not allowing me the opportunity to ask questions about their venture and explore ideas with them. Pitching is a dance and they don’t include me as their partner. In other words, the entrepreneur wants so badly to deliver their value proposition message and communicate why I should invest, that they lose their sense of proprioception.

Isn’t that a great word?

P.S. Note the Resources+ Tools section, which we’ve loaded up and will discuss more in days to come…