Business Lessons From a Smelly Fruit

Business is the main meal, and the fuck-ups are the appetizers we never ordered but are forced to eat. It’s only after we fully accept and consume them that we experience the nutrients that follow the failures.

There are beautiful lessons to learn if you open yourself up and embrace these delicious, unwanted appetizers. Here’s another way of looking at it: While in Bali for a yoga retreat, my friend Scott went on and on about a tropical fruit called durian and how delicious it was. But we didn’t have any at the retreat. One, it’s hard to get, and two, it wasn’t allowed on the resort because of its unbearable odor.

It wasn’t until the day we were on our way back to Ubud that our friend Keduk surprised us. We stopped off at the side of the road and exited the van. He bought us durian, but it was tied to the back of the tailpipe because he didn’t want to stink up the car.

Durian Fruit

If you Google durian fruit smell, here’s what comes up: “Its odor is best described as…turpentine and onions, garnished with a gym sock.”

In business, it’s not as important to avoid fuck-ups as it is to accept their inevitability and learn how to respond when they arrive. Business fuck-ups are kind of like the durian fruit: they’re uncomfortable to hold onto, smell like shit, but taste amazing when you dive in and are one of the most nutritious fruits on earth.

What’s even more interesting is that if you don’t want to walk around with smelly durian breath, the trick is to pour water into the empty durian shell and drink it. The same properties that make you stinky are the same properties that will freshen your breath.

Hmmmm…maybe this stinky little tropical fruit isn’t just a metaphor for business failures but for our entire lives.