Ephemeris of the Mind (Book Review) Fully Alive: Using the Lessons of the Amazon to Live Your Mission in Business and Life
Time to read: 2 min read
Book Cover
Rediscovering and applying the practices that forgotten peoples have used to traverse this fundamental puzzle of what it means to be human is one way to find strength through the trying times we find ourselves in.
Review
Tyler Gage is the cofounder and CEO of Runa, an energy drinks company which makes beverages with guayusa, an Amazonian tea. The book is an autobiography of Gage’s entrepreneurship journey and how this journey is heavily inspired by his experiences traveling in the Amazon rainforest.
Gage’s language is very colloquial and the book is a very easy read. Gage gets very vulnerable with his struggles along the way, such as his self-doubts and his business troubles, including being called a “fucking pompous child” by a board member. Gage also outlines how he leverages the teachings of the Amazon to get himself out of the ruts he’s in. The book straddles the realms of personal and business self-help. My three main takeaways are:
Most decisions that seem urgent aren’t actually urgent. It’s important to be in the moment and be willing to let go. In fact, different non-theistic religions all come to the same conclusion about the power of letting go.
Being inexperienced can be an asset as it allows one to be open-minded and listen to diverse opinions. Gage retells his experiences first engaging with the Kichwa communities and how his vulnerabilities were used to drum up support and uncover blindspots and weaknesses.
Gage describes a triangle model of conflicting priorities between being a manager, an entrepreneur, and a leader. Gage offers practical business advice. While Runa is a social enterprise, instead of creating a non-profit, Gage decided to create a profit-driven business that focuses on the product while having a foundation to focus on the charity. Gage also gives good advice on managing advisors and investors, namely to always demonstrate following through on advice, even if the advice is not ultimately followed.
Conclusion
An intimate look at someone's entrepreneurship journey.