Ege Haber Column – Life Didn’t Hand Me a Ready-Made Path

As a child, I wanted to be an astronaut. And at the same time, a rock star. I dreamed of a life in which I would travel the world, go on stage and enjoy myself while entertaining people.

My family, however, saw things differently. To them, the path to a good life was clear: you would get into a good school, acquire a solid profession and draw a steady salary.

Actually, I can’t blame them.

My father ran a corner shop that he opened in the morning and closed at night. He worked seven days a week. There were no holidays, no vacations. As a child, I mostly knew him as someone who had left for work while we were asleep and came home while we were asleep.

It was perfectly natural for someone living that kind of life to want a “guaranteed profession” for his child.

But sometimes you want completely different things.

Working in the corner shop at a young age, I realized this: people don’t just want to make money. They want to create something, build something, change something.

Maybe that is exactly what entrepreneurship is. Not founding a company, but daring to write your own story.

There was no ready-made path in front of me.

In fact, most of the time there wasn’t even a path.

My first ventures failed. I entered into the wrong partnerships. I chased ideas that people didn’t believe in. I heard the line “Is that ever going to be a business?” a lot.

But looking back now, I understand that those failures were actually signposts.

Being an entrepreneur in Turkey is a rather interesting thing.

On the one hand, you struggle with constantly changing conditions; on the other, you have to keep on dreaming. Because in this country, it is sometimes not your plans but your reflexes that keep you standing.

Maybe that’s why Turkish entrepreneurs are so resourceful.

Because they have to be.

Today we talk about artificial intelligence, digital transformation and next-generation business models. The world really is changing very fast.

But there is one thing that still hasn’t changed: the courage to take action.

Because most people wait for the perfect moment.

Entrepreneurs, on the other hand, start with what they have.

Throughout my life, I’ve seen this: more often than not, the path appears once you start walking.

My story is not an “overnight success” story.

I’m still learning. I’m still making mistakes. I’m still looking for new paths.

But there is one thing I know:

Life doesn’t hand everyone a ready-made path.

Some of us build our own path as we walk.

Source: Ege Haber ↗