Day 16/21 - French Dare Devil Remi Lucidi Falls to His Death

Last week, I came across this headline.

I’ve followed Remi for a while on IG. An extreme sports enthusiast, who lived a Spider-Man life, climbing skyscrapers and tall structures across the world, unassisted. A sports camera and adrenaline, his only companions.

Some of you may not know this, but I am a bit of an adrenaline junkie. I love the idea of extreme sports. Bunjee jumping, para gliding, sky diving, etc.

It’s why I took to cycling a few years ago and without any experience other than my childhood estate cycling days, one day decided to meet my cousin, a pro cyclist on the southern bypass.

Not exactly an extreme sport but taking to Mombasa Road atop metal frames with spikes on wheels, must count for something. Twice on that highway trying to get onto the overpass at the Imara Daima exit, I almost got swiped to the afterlife.

In one incident just after acquiring my bicycle, a stubborn Indimanje Sacco matatu driver ran me off the road in the face of a hurtling trailer. I landed on the tarmac on my left side like a discarded paper bag, my water bottle hurtling to the right. A hilarious scene remixed with background sounds of screeching brakes.

Before anyone could ask if I was OK, I was back on my mountain bike racing like Lance Armstrong to meet Adikinyi.

Surprisingly I didn’t get injured. I just remember cycling away from stunned motorists and onlookers, while laughing at how, I had scampered after a plastic water bottle in the middle of a busy highway. You’d have thought I was chasing after ‘Kamute’ in Ukambani (Kamba Land).

So, I can appreciate Remi’s lifestyle.

Keep Climbing and Scaling Those Milestones

Only a few weeks ago his fans were urging him to be more careful after posting a picture dangling precariously with one hand on a steel structure several thousands of feet above ground.

While most people would argue for a less ‘reckless’ lifestyle, the Frenchman lived most of his youthful self like this. On the edge seemingly happy, until death finally answered and plunged him hurtling down Tregunter Tower (a 68 Storey skyscraper in Hong Kong).

I don’t know if this is how he thought he would finally check out, but he understood the risks, which did nothing to starve his desire for the next adrenaline high.

I know some things just don’t make sense. But I get it. And only because neither does entrepreneurship. There are many times it doesn’t make sense.

Like when a client goes mute after work has been submitted and an invoice sent.

Or when they make unrealistic demands at the tail end of a project that completely breaches the scope of your agreement.

I know I’ve shared a lot on the harsh and rough truths of entrepreneurship. But to be fair, it’s not all gory.

This country’s economy if not most major economies of the world have burgeoned, because of entrepreneurs and people bold enough to believe they can build big, beautiful companies that go on to employ millions.

Entrepreneurship has helped raised the standard of living for many be it directly and indirectly.

Where success is the end result, entrepreneurship has assured unlikely individuals economic independence, while staving off poverty. It drives innovation and competition and makes a good case for community development and the most optimal use of resources.

So, the risks are definitely worth it.

It follows that, Remi and I aren’t any different. He became spider man for the psychological or even mental high. I got into entrepreneurship for the financial high - that is, the reward of hard labour.

I can imagine the level of fitness (hard labour) required to swing from one piece of steel metal pole to another using your bare hands and maybe for hours.

Like him, I still have many reasons to continue on this risky path having known nothing else.

That, and I don’t know if there’s any other legit career that would have afforded me the work-at-home-mom lifestyle I’ve enjoyed and continue to enjoy; raising my daughter in between homeschooling and client zoom meetings for the last nine years hadn’t been all bad.

Being able to curate a work-life that resonates with my personality, my chronotype, personal goals and ambitions has been more than satisfactory.

While I grew up dreaming about become a diplomat or a philanthropist working at the UN with the late Koffi Annan and Ban Ki Moon. I realized later, what I really wanted was to become wealthy and free enough to travel the world experiencing new people and cultures without the time limits.

I am grateful that entrepreneurship has repeatedly afforded me a glimpse at the aspirations of my youth. It’s why I want to encourage those still here, especially the young ones, not to give up or give in to the obstacles along the way.

Keep climbing and scaling those milestones.

The adrenaline is worth it. Even if sometimes it will push you over the edge.

#21daysofentrepreneurship