In Jack London’s CALL OF THE WILD, the main character was a dog named Buck. Buck was stolen from his bright and sunny California home and sold into a harsh, brutal and savage world where he is eventually led to the Klondike and trained as a sled dog. Through a series of trials and tribulations, Buck is transformed into a survivalist who eventually answers the “call of the wild” and runs free in the cold. The journey Buck traveled unleashed his ability to survive and reveal his instinctive nature. He realized that in order to survive (and overcome) the challenges he faced, the Buck at the beginning of the book had to “die” in order for the “Ghost Dog” to emerge.
In life and business, there are two types of people: dogs and wolves. Dogs, in my opinion, are really wolves that had their freedom bred out of them. They have been domesticated and trained to wait on and serve their owner. They don’t hunt for themselves. They don’t provide for themselves and their families. The males are used to stud with “bitches in heat,” and the babies are sold to other owners with breeders, seeking to create “pure breeds.” The dog is the owner’s “bitch,” with no intentions of offering it a chance to live free. In business, the “dog” is that employee who looks to his “owner” for provision and direction. He feels the “call of the wild” within him because he is dissatisfied with having his freedom sacrificed for a check and the illusion of security. Just like the dog, the employee has been conditioned to ignore the “wolf” within him.
On the other hand, the “wolf” is within the heart of every man, woman and child. He is driven by a desire to yearn free. He doesn’t wait for his provision to come to him; he hunts. He creates territories and is prepared to defend what he’s built. He feeds his family without external assistance. His driving force is to express himself as the leader of his pack.
In business, the “wolf” is that entrepreneur driven to live life on his own terms. He chooses to blaze his own path. He hunts for his own dinner. He seeks more than the material riches. He ultimately wants to have the freedom and autonomy to live free. He wants the freedom and independence to raise his family without outside interference.
There’s a wolf in all of us that yearns to breathe free. The question becomes this: When the “call of the wild” triggers the wolf in you, will you answer the call?
