A phrase, no doubt, we've all heard many times during the course of our lives! Yet it also has several meanings, not all of which are terribly positive. If you seek a definition of 'pushing the boat out', you'll find that it is derived from an act of generosity where a boat is beached and is too large for a seaman to re-float alone. Therefore pushing the boat out became synonymous with acts of generosity or, in some cases, being overly so, and in ones' own favour! If you're really into exploring the derivation of this proverb, there's a whole raft of them [pardon the pun] available. However, that isn't really the point of this post... so I'll move on!
Probably almost two years' ago, in the course of a Twitter conversation with Pádraig Ó Ceidigh, this old proverb re-emerged with a new sense of significance, and I'm afraid to say, Pádraig, I've been using it again recently!
What did it mean to me then? Simply - to keep my eyes wide open to opportunity [nice link to that blog, eh?] - to "live and not weaken" and most importantly - to remain focused on the task at hand. Entrepreneurship can be a pretty turbulent journey, with plenty of detours along the way, but if it's the right road for you, you'll almost certainly know. Appreciate and understand the knocks, why they've happened, and how you might negotiate them next time - but don't give up... keep pushing the boat out.
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