Right Action Right Time

This is the highest principle of the bootstrap philosophy and approach. It is a state of awareness, capability and grace that will never truly ever be achieved, yet constantly sought after. To bootstrap is to be engaged in a deep and fundamental process operating at every level of existence, not just the entrepreneurial.

Said another way, to bootstrap is to continually be in dialog with oneself and the universe through direct experimentation and engagement. The world is a playground in which to express one's creativity. The playground has rules, which must be discovered and harnessed by the bootstrapper. These are discovered through an ongoing cycle of modeling and experimentation.

"Action" is a proxy for every element: skills, knowledge, people, resources, tools, capital, customers, organization. The bootstrapper's task is to weave these elements at the right time so they combine to form a coherent and functioning entity, which serves its expanding constituents.

Every action leads to a result which leads to the next action. The thousand-mile journey begins with the ground beneath one's feet - Lao Tzu. Steps cannot be skipped. From each action comes new intimate knowledge and a discovery of a picture that is slowly coming into focus, rather than known up front. This not only results in a totally unique and "defensible" business, but creates enjoyment of every part of the process.

Right action comes from an alignment with the unfolding process of all things, including the bootstrapper, their organization, their customers, etc.

At the tactical level, it is knowing the stages of the entrepreneurial game and coming to focus on the right action of each stage.