My company has an onsite project for a major client. A few months ago, the project manager was out on vacation and I stepped in to fill his role for a week. It was a drastically different week from those I had become accustomed to as an entrepreneur.
I didn’t leave the client’s office. I didn’t take any sales meetings. No networking events. Just internal meetings, helping internal customers with their requests, and a lot of paperwork.
On Tuesday of that week, a member of my team came into my office and asked me if I was doing ok.
Me: Yea, I’m doing fine, what do you mean?
Her: I’ve seen you over these last two days. You look like you’re trapped against your will. You longingly watch everyone that passes by your office. And I feel like you could make a run for it at any minute.
Me: That’s funny. No I’m fine. You really see that?
Her: Diana, you’re an outdoor kitty! You’re just not going to do well in an indoor environment.
I thought her remark was pretty funny, and after lunch I did some more research on outdoor kitties and found this great description on a blog:
“Confident cats, particularly those with prior outdoor experience, may well vote for freedom and its attendant risk over the alternative – a long, but boring, healthy life of incarceration. For cats of such persuasion, it seems that the New Hampshire state motto – “Live Free or Die” – might easily apply.
For those cats that must remain indoors all the time, or even most of the time, it is an owner’s duty to make sure that his cat has copious daily opportunities for exercise, games, fun and interaction with family members.”
The more I think about it, the more the moniker applies. Once you realize that you are an entrepreneur, there is NO GOING BACK. So I wrote this short quiz to help you figure out if you are meant for a life of adventure and risk or something more safe and predictable.
In the spirit of Jeff Foxworthy, you might be an Outdoor Kitty if:
- You feel claustrophobic in a traditional office setting.
- Regular working hours don’t apply to you because you are always hunting.
- You never, ever pack your lunch.
- You aren’t afraid of failure because you can always land on your feet.
- Indoor kitties think you’re crazy.
- You’re comfortable in an “eat what you kill” environment.
- You’ve found that you are much more productive and can hunt bigger game in packs.
- The only thing you fear is doing the same thing every day…oh..and also coyotes.
Hope this little exercise has been helpful. Happy hunting to all you Outdoor Kitties!
OMG too funny. This is a great moniker. I would add that outdoor kitties are also more comfortable taking risky routes to get what they want because they work hard to keep their claws sharp!
Any tips on making a successful transition from indoor kitty to outdoor kitty? (I’m referring to the human version)
Great post. I have found it to be true that once you have been exposed to the outdoors it is difficult to want to come back inside.
However, there are times when you are in the middle of a thunder storm and the cozy corporate office with weekends free looks pretty enticing. Ultimatly the storm passes and you are glad you have the freedom to do what you want.
I like the idea of a follow-up that Laura suggested, How to become an outside cat.