"Wars are not won by evacuations."

     The title quote is from Sir Winston Churchill. It might be the bookend to his more plain-spoken and well-known quote, "Never, never, never give up!"

     It's four years since Stumpjack opened. Four years of riding the roller coaster. Lots of entrepreneurs have been riding that beast since the global recession/depression hit us all. Some who were with us a couple years ago are not with us today. Some who are here today won't be here in 2011. Some will survive. Some will even grow. People are always getting on and off the roller coaster.

    

     But in marking our 4-year anniversary and especially the last couple years, I can't help but think of what Churchill and the English people withstood and overcame in WWII. Running a small business is, of course, not life-threatening nor are the consequences as dire as they were in WWII. But it is a long-term battle that requires much the same sort of determination and cultivation of hope and eventual victory that Churchill exhorted to his people.

    

     Thank you to all of you friends and folks who appreciate what Stumpjack has brought to the lakeshore scene. We're a long way from being secure or victorious yet, but four years is worth a "huzzah!"

    

     A huzzah! to all of you out there, whether in business, family or work situations, who have been sucking it up, gritting your teeth, rolling your sleeves up and who keep getting up every time you get knocked down or off the track.

     Here's another bit of "never give up" from Brian Tracy that I like, particularly his final sentence:

    

     "Between you and every goal that you wish to achieve, there is a series of obstacles, and the bigger the goal, the bigger the obstacles. Your decision to be, have and do something out of the ordinary entails facing difficulties and challenges that are out of the ordinary as well. Sometimes your greatest asset is simply your ability to stay with it longer than anyone else."