Don't look for the answer first. Just shoot the 'bow' and draw a target on it.
Date
Feb 27, 2026
Classification
- Solo Freelancer / Personal Branding
Lecor lee / Lecor&Lex
40K text influencer, newsletter writer, serial entrepreneur, Leco, my name is my profession.
A newsletter for people creating their own businesses, Lecor&Lex Letter
Changing jobs? Or starting a business? First off, self-development is not the answer.
🫑 3-Line Summary
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With the advent of an era of prolonged low growth, many office workers are gripped by anxiety and are caught in a dilemma where they must choose between 'doing what they are good at (working at a company)' and 'doing what they like (starting a business).'
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However, liking something and being good at it are not a matter of choice; it is a cause-and-effect relationship where if you love something madly and keep digging into it, you will eventually become good at it.
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The era of blindly building up qualifications for self-improvement is over. Now, you must find your own unique item from your past complexes or trivial obsessions that others cannot understand, and put it into action (like shooting an arrow).
🥦 Insight
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Don't draw the target first; shoot the arrow first.
We too often spend our time searching for the perfect answer (the target) to avoid failure, only to end up failing to start anything and just letting time slip away. Your own makeshift shortcuts that seem inefficient to others, or distractions that make three hours fly by, can actually be your most powerful business weapon. If you are currently looking into new certifications or English academies due to vague anxiety, it is time to stop the payment and reflect on the small, everyday things you have taken for granted, as naturally as breathing.
Silicon Valley Unicorns That Succeeded Without Drawing the Target First
In Silicon Valley, it is not uncommon to find examples of massive corporations that changed the world, built not on a perfect business model (target) planned from the start, but on a small tool (bow) created out of chance or necessity.
1.
Slack: An 'in-house messenger' salvaged from a failing game company
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The original target drawn: Development of an online game named 'Glitch'
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First Shot (Side Projection): An in-house messenger roughly tailored to team members' tastes to facilitate communication while game development was stalling.
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A New Target: Boldly abandoning game development and concentrating all capabilities on the 'internal messenger' employees were using like crazy, growing into Slack, which is now worth tens of trillions of won.
2.
Instagram: The gold mine of 'photo filters' found in a complex app
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The original target: A complex location-based check-in app called 'Burbn'
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Once Shot (Distraction): Among the numerous features in the app, users enthusiastically used only the 'feature to apply filters to photos and share' instead of using the others.
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A newly drawn target: By boldly abandoning the check-in feature and focusing solely on the arrow of 'photo sharing,' the global social media platform Instagram of today was born.
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Twitter: The 'short message' idea thrown out during the company's brink of bankruptcy
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Original target: A podcast platform called 'Odeo' (facing the risk of closure due to market dominance by competitors)
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The Arrow Shot Once (Ddangjit): A trivial communication idea casually tossed out during a hackathon held to find a way to survive—"How about just sending my status to friends via text with a short sentence?"
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A Newly Drawn Target: This service, created without grandiose goals by drawing inspiration from trivial everyday communication methods, later became Twitter, which moves global public opinion.
As such, the most powerful business weapons are often born from seemingly inefficient distractions or everyday activities that are as natural as breathing. It is when you first look back at where the arrows you have already shot have landed, rather than forcing yourself to draw a new target out of vague anxiety.
🥄 A spoonful of execution
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After work today, take a quick look at your YouTube viewing history or your Instagram 'Saved' list. Hidden within that bizarre topic that your fingers instinctively gravitated toward, rather than your head, might be the real clue that will feed you.
—— View Original ——
Should I change jobs? Or take this opportunity to start a business?
I am conflicted. Let me break down the question a bit. Working at a company is closer to what I am good at, since I have been doing it for a long time. I generally think of starting a business as doing what you love. So, this dilemma ultimately boils down to the question: "Should I do what I love, or what I am good at?"
Whether you are on the verge of quitting your job, someone who has decided to just go for it and look for a new one while resting, someone who had no intention of staying long but was forced to resign due to the company's difficulties and is now taking a gap year, or someone who started a business but is struggling and considering returning to work—if you are a citizen of South Korea, you have likely either had this dilemma yourself or have someone doing it beside you.
I call this the "national dilemma." The fact that 50 million people are asking the question means that no one has been able to provide an answer. Is it because it is a truly difficult dilemma?
Let's try to put an end to this worry.
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Lecor lee