Theoriginalneanderthal

Ah yes, my friends, be very wary of the Road to Nowhere. It can be very alluring. It starts out looking like many another road. Paved with promise, the signage urges one forward. It features nice landscaping with a few pretty flowers, but not a single hint of what awaits. Unfortunately, the Road to Nowhere is paved with all those dreams that never survived the rising of the sun. The end game, where it leads, is an empty, dark place where the whispers, “I wish…” and “If only…” drift along rancid, pungent, and stagnant air.

Sometimes it can prove hard to get past the turn off to the Road to Nowhere. There is a powerful draw to the place. Promise and potential shine at its entrance. Ephemeral, they dance just out of reach and tease one to the point of desperation. Reaching for them, pursuing them, one can easily lose track of the true path. And then one day, realization hits, the promise was false, the potential negligible.

The road that was smooth, fresh asphalt has become a cobblestone path, twisty and bumpy. It is so far off the beaten path it leaves one feeling lost and out of sorts. A little trickle of fear crawls up the spine and one wonders if there is even a way out of the murky pit all that promise has collapsed into. The signage has changed.

“I wish I could…” “If only I had tried…” “I really meant to but…” “It’s just easier not to try…” “What ever made me think this idea would work?” “Nothing ever works out for me.” “I’m stupid.” “Everybody else makes it look so easy.” “No one will like this.” “I am wasting my time.” “Why bother?”

Each negative affirmation is a cobblestone on The Road to Nowhere. Each doubt is a stumbling block. The further down the road one gets the more difficult it becomes to navigate.

The Road to Nowhere has a 5 star resort called The Good Old Days. If a person spends the night there, they are apt to not want to leave. They start to believe that nothing out there can ever compare to the way things were. Focusing on what was they cannot appreciate what is and they have no vision for what can be.

So, how does one avoid this trap as one sets out on a new enterprise. Recognizing the danger signs before getting too far along The Road to Nowhere is the key. Questioning what one is doing is OK, it can be beneficial; however, answering those questions in such a way as to impede progress is a sign of slippage. Letting everything that could go wrong obfuscate the vision is another sign.

At this stage in life, I have ventured down The Road to Nowhere a time or two. My advice, do not entertain self-doubt. Thoughts will randomly pop up, just because they show up in your head does not mean they have the right to stay. Do not accept failure. You will fail, it is part of the human condition. Use mistakes and failures as stepping stones. Do not allow mistakes or failures to become stumbling blocks. Do not criticize yourself. There are plenty of people out there who will take that on. Leave them to it! Do not accept criticism in a demoralizing way, treat it as a lesson if it is applicable; if it is not applicable toss it aside. It is not worth wasting precious time and energy on if it doesn’t apply. There are those who would drag you down for their own entertainment. Avoid these people if possible, if not understand it is a them problem not a you problem.

Find joy in the simple day to day aspects of doing what you do. Do things that make sense and add value. Do not focus on the goal, it may be way out there; focus on the little things that it takes to get forward mobility. Use caution if something looks too good to be true and if you find yourself on that mystical Road to Nowhere just turn around. Head in another direction. Yes, it really is that simple, and that hard. After all they say that life is a journey not a destination.

You know in advance it is going to be a challenge. Depending on fitness level and terrain and weather conditions, the challenge will be more or less. Like a lot of things in life, the only way to get in trail shape is to go out on the trail and hike. The more frequently a body can get out on the trail the more conditioned one gets.

My first ‘hike’ was an 8 mile strenuous jaunt to Ramsey Cascades in the Great Smokey Mountains National Park. I had 2 of my sons, a daughter-in-law and a friend along on this adventure. I had a great idea about how conditioned I was because I worked out, actually teaching fitness classes and karate classes at the dojo. I worked out regularly several times a week.

I quickly figured out that being in shape is relative. I did what I did, and I knew what I knew, but I knew nothing about this. By the time we were coming back out I could barely walk. I had the wrong shoes, my pack was too heavy, my walking staff cumbersome and also too heavy. Each step I took hurt. It hurt from the bottoms of my feet all the way up the length of my body. It felt like someone had taken a hammer and beat the soles of my feet.

I had led the charge up the trail but now I hobbled out, my eldest son at my side, knowing I hurt and knowing my ‘pride’ was as battered as the bottoms of my feet; he walked beside me and we talked about everything but my pain. He was steady and calm as I hobbled out of the forest much wiser than when I strutted in.

Life is full of lessons, some are small, some monumental, and some are painful. Going away from this hike, I could have gone one of 2 ways. I could have said “that hurt too much and it wasn’t worth it,” or I could have and did say “the payoff was extraordinary and I am going to make a few adjustments here and we are going to do this again.”

This is my first business venture. It is proving to be a challenge. I started out a little naive here, but I am getting into business shape. I know what I know, which isn’t nearly enough, but with each step I take I am learning. There are skill sets I do not have. I don’t have to have them all, I am not alone. I have a partner. Together, we have run into a few obstacles, it seems like they pop up in the most random unexpected places. I am learning a few painful lessons. I refuse to accept that my mistakes will be the defining feature of this effort. Like that long ago hike, my partner is walking beside me, steady, upbeat and calm. Every problem has a solution. Every mistake has a correction. We are making adjustments as we go along, getting everything together and ready to roll out.

Like my hiking adventures, I do believe that if you hang in there with us, the payoff is going to be extraordinary.

Folks, this is going to be fun!

As the days and weeks fly by here we are finding the support of family and friends to be sustaining for us and the project as a whole. The last year has been a very challenging year for many. We are social animals by design, able to accomplish great things when we work together with a common cause. Being locked down, isolated and denied the human contact we need to thrive has had consequences on the human psyche that have not been defined on the national stage but are very present and potent to the individuals struggling with them. We were never meant to be isolated. The introvert probably fared a little better than the extroverted among us, but preferring your own company never really meant being without any companionship at all, did it?

The Original Neanderthal started out as an idea in my head, and it began to gain life when my family and friends validated it and added to it. Some gave great slogan suggestions, some gave product ideas, some just encouraged us to give it a try. As it began to get some traction, the encouragement and interest facilitated its growth into a viable entity.

I am pretty far outside my comfort zone here. I am doing things I never imagined I would ever have a reason or an opportunity to do. I am putting money at risk as I invest it on the chance that it might become something of value to more folks than just myself and the circle of supporters who encourage us. I am learning a lot of things I would never have been exposed to were I not pushing towards a goal. That goal, though still far out there moves closer with each little shuffling step taken.

We have hit dead ends trying to source product only to find another source pop up on random searches of the internet and/or discussions with family and friends. This route looks great…oh no…it wasn’t quite…so we reach out and find another. We spend some money here and then we discover there was a better way we just didn’t know about until we went down the wrong path. We discover things that in hindsight look so intuitive. I begrudge no lesson learned here, there are no mistakes just learning opportunities.

Someone suggests something and we check it out to find its great, then someone suggests something else and it is not so much, but the suggestions themselves have a value far beyond the immediate need they address. The suggestions demonstrate an interest and that interest inspires more activity and drives the little venture forward. The effort, were it mine alone, would have crashed and burned somewhere before takeoff. It is not mine alone anymore; it is a collective effort fueled by the interest and energy thrown its way. Kudos to those who ask how it is going, and then listen with interest. More kudos to those with suggestions. None are ignored as we put everything together towards launch day.

Reading an article from the Smithsonian Magazine titled Rethinking Neanderthals, I discovered that the Neanderthals were inclined to live in small family type groups of 10 to 15 individuals, that they may have had a central butchery area where big game was brought to be worked up and perhaps divided up. The small family groups appeared to perhaps work with other small family groups to survive the harsh environment that plagued their centuries on this planet. Scientists are coming to believe that the Neanderthals were not that different from modern humans; their brain size was very similar to ours. They were biologically designed to survive harsher climates in that they were more compact and physically stronger than modern humans. And evidence from excavations is proving that even Neanderthals needed family and friends to survive.

We are together going to accomplish great things!

With the assistance of a talented graphic artist, we now have a novel silhouette of a striding Neanderthal man with a spear in his hand. We applied for a trademark with USPTO.gov, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, and our application is in the process of being reviewed. This, like every thing else is going to take some time. And this like everything else has a cost associated with it. The government likes its little piece of your pie.

With all the political chatter of Neanderthals and Neanderthal thinking, our distant cohabitant of Mother Earth is receiving some notoriety.

Some of the notoriety is positive as Science uncovers more evidence giving a clearer picture of these ancient denizens. They appear to have been more like us than not. I am intrigued by the mystery of who they were and how they lived and what became of them. Why did they die out and Homo sapiens become transcendent?

I imagine Neanderthals had to be cunning, fierce, and a determined lot to survive the climate and times. They surely had to cooperate as evidence suggests they hunted in coordinated groups to kill what to us are Beasts of Legend. With sheer determination and rudimentary weapons they brought down these creatures. Evidence also suggests they cared for their ill and injured and had some kind of belief system that led to burying their dead with ceremony. They lived in a harsh, polarized climate as the ice age ruled the land.

We live in a very polarized environment. Language has become a weapon, and even when we are saying the same words to one another, we may not be defining those words the same way. Communication has become a terrain full of land mines. For this little venture, we see the Neanderthal as an embodiment of surviving an adverse environment. Adversity can lead to opportunity if we do not let it roll over us. We cannot control what happens around us, but we can control our actions and reactions. We want to introduce something positive and encourage people. There is potential and even magic in this world. From the wilderness in our public lands, to the relationships we develop with others, the potential for great things exists. With determination and care we can navigate these times and survive. With a little skill and cunning we can even thrive. Stay tuned.

It is all well and good to get everything to the starting line and prepare to begin in earnest. We have established our LLC, we have a name and all the assorted sundry registrations and licenses to go with it. We have struggled down the dark canal and have entered a brave new world where everything is waiting and nothing is quite what we expected it to be.

Standing here at the beginning, proprietary logo in hand and tons of ideas spinning in a giant vortex all around me, it seems too big, too complicated, too much. There is a bit of a disconnect between all my ideas and the time and resources to make them real, a disconnect between what I would like to do and what I can do. To have made it this far leaves me feeling in awe and anxious. To think about taking the next step and the next step and the next step leaves me wanting to crawl in the bed and cover my head with my blankie.

Alas, I believe in what we are doing and it is never far from my mind. Ideas randomly pop up and some are good, some are great, and some…well…some need a little more work. I record them, I study on them, and organize them and then reorganize them and the concept keeps growing, my resources and time not so much.

Part of the process of launching a new venture is to narrow the focus to something manageable within limited resource allocation and time. Left to my own devices, I would be spinning off in so many different directions that nothing would ever come of it before I exhausted my resources and used up all my time.

Luckily, for The Original Neanderthal LLC, Savanna has her hands firmly on the brakes. I can’t tell you how many times I have heard, “Yeah…that sounds great…awesome idea…but…” Sigh…

Narrowing the focus, introducing the Brand, getting our story out there to you, letting it take root, this will take time. Ahhh, patience, here we go for another dance. I have heard it said “Be careful what you pray for, because God answers prayers.” If you pray for patience then be ready to get plenty of opportunities to cultivate this little fruit of the Spirit. Remember too that nothing grows without adversity. Nothing matures without testing.

To begin, we had to take a long list of slogans, which we want to pair with our Logo, and narrow it down to a workable number and we had to chose a few pieces of merchandise to adorn with the Logo and slogans. I read somewhere that no matter what you think your business is, it is ultimately the customer who will decide. With this in mind, we devised an unscientific survey where we took our list to family and friends and asked them which slogans appealed to them the most. I was encouraged when most of the slogans got a vote or two. In the end the 3 slogans with the most votes were chosen and paired with the logo along with the name of the company. We have 4 designs we are working with now.

The website is coming along and we have several prototypes for product. As we get closer and closer to launch day we hope you will continue on the journey with us. It is exciting to see an idea move from the ethereal space in my head to something I can hold in my hand. Launch day is not far off. Even though it feels like we are creeping along, things are happening! Good things! See ya soon!

This is unfolding to be an interesting adventure. It all started with an idea, which I touched on in the last blog. I floated around the concept. It caught people’s imagination and led to some good conversations. As the idea started gaining some positive momentum, I began to believe it might have legs if it ever left the incipient stage inside my head.

It is frustrating to have an idea and not really know what to do with it besides daydream. I got my first good dose of positive traction when Savanna said we should quit talking about it and just go for it.

This is all new territory for me. I have worked a traditional job my whole adult life, I went to school, got a 2 year technical degree and went to work in the chemical industry. After 30+years in the lab earning enough for a comfortable life, to have this idea and actually chase it is intimidating. It is exciting and fearful at the same time.

I looked at my finances, sold a vehicle, refinanced another, and gathered a decent amount of capital to try and get us off the ground. Savanna, with her marketing savvy and connections, reached out and found a graphic designer who helped us pull the idea out of the shadows of my brain and make it real.

I did not realize I was about to join a circus. I ended up jumping through several bureaucratic hoops and doing some back flips as I threw cash around to various government agencies, ranging from the federal government to secure a tax number, to the state government to do a search and register the LLC. Then I went to the Hawkins County courthouse and engaged with the county government to register the LLC in the county, and the county once again for a business license. The upfront money to just accomplish this was not insignificant. Even opening a business account at the local Credit Union was more involved than I had thought it would be.

While I was chasing the dream through various Government entities, Savanna began developing our website (keep your eyes out for the launch!) where we plan to use online retailing as our principal vehicle.

We were extremely excited to discover that the name of our company was available as a domain, so we grabbed that domain and a couple of others.

Some days I can see it all coming together, other days I wonder what I was thinking. Entrepreneurship is totally new to me. I am lucky to have Savanna as a partner in this venture. Her positive attitude and enthusiasm never wains. Keep an eye out good things are coming.

Hello, I am Theresa. Welcome to my new blog where I am going to explore topics related to the new business venture I am embarking on with Savanna, The Original Neanderthal LLC.

Where did this idea originate?

Well, I was chatting with co-workers and friends about current events and the political climate and the reality we deal with on a daily basis. It was around the time that Texas and Mississippi lifted their mask mandates, ended their statewide lockdowns and encouraged their citizens to try and get on with life.

Our president stood on national TV and urged the country to avoid Neanderthal thinking. This stuck in my head and I began to ponder just what is Neanderthal thinking? I know that popular culture would have us believe that Neanderthal thinking is not based on rational evaluation of evidence prior to decision making about complex issues. Neanderthals are portrayed as brutish, animalistic, stupid and crude. So, apparently any desire to go against the Narrative surrounding current events is seen as foolish, risky and above all uncaring of our fellow citizens. The Characterization of people who disagree as Neanderthal like is an insult.

There is a lot of negativity in our world today. I admit I read my share of Doom Porn. Chicken Little would be proud. The sky is falling. Life as we know it is staggering on its last lap around the track. But is it?

Just who were the Neanderthals and how did they survive 160,000 years on an unforgiving planet in an unforgiving environment? Is Neanderthal thinking perhaps something we should embrace as we hurtle towards the dire future portrayed for us by the sellers of dystopia? Shouldn’t we want to be tough, adaptable, imaginative, and able to construct and use advanced tools to help us survive, even thrive, on an unforgiving planet in an unforgiving environment?

No one knows exactly why a people who survived as long as the Neanderthal finally died out. Are we on a collision course with extinction ourselves? Are we indeed at a tipping point where the whole structure that has supported our culture is about to crash around us?

This chapter in our collective lives is being written daily. Who is the author? I don’t know about you, but I would prefer to write my own character’s dialog.

Join Savanna and I as we begin this journey. Let’s see what we can make of this!