It’s the time of year in many cultures that we make and break resolutions in an annual ritual of reflection.

For those newly-minted graduates that I’ve been fortunate to already meet, and for the thousands of you in French corporate jobs with an entrepreneurial twitch who are hesitating to take the plunge, I strongly recommend you read Charlie O’Donnell’s recent blog post entitled, “Anything is Possible (in a Startup)”.

In his own inimitable way, Charlie uses the Matrix metaphor to steer his readers toward the “truth.”  He’s writing for the U.S. market, but I submit that his advice is near universal.  For example the following gem could easily be addressed to recent graduates of France’s noteworthy grandes écoles:

There’s something wrong with your career. You don’t know what it is, but it’s there, like a splinter in your mind, driving you mad. You are seeing a career set in motion before you but somehow your eyes are still closed…

…Open your eyes to the truth–the desert of the real if you will.  This bustling corporate landscape where you made your way up the ladder, learned a ton, and retired happy, rich and fulfilled ended years ago.  Now, these mindless corporate careers live in a world where the light of the sky has been blotted out, where the dead hopes and dreams of those before you are liquefied and fed shamelessly to new recruits, and control reigns supreme….

…If you don’t make a drastic change soon, you’re going to end up so hopelessly dependent on the system that that you will fight to protect it.

I won’t re-hash his entire article, as I cannot possibly do it justice.  But I encourage all of you, who love living in France but still seek the intellectual stimulation that only a dynamic entrepreneurial environment could provide, to read Charlie’s post.  And then please come talk to me about opportunities at many of our portfolio companies which might represent an oasis in this career desert, firms like MoMac, BoosterMedia, NetMediaEurope, and Keyyo.