The Story of The Cocky Lion
A five-year-old little boy fell in love with a lion that he’d seen on television. His parents decided to take the boy halfway across the country to a zoo in California where the lion lived.
The child was a wee bit precocious and a rather stubborn boy. While his parents neither spoiled nor overindulged the boy, he often would do as he decided in spite of better advice or potential consequences.
Visiting the lion was like a dream. The beautiful male cat strutted in his enclosure, filling the boy with awe and determination to be as magnificent as this creature.
This famous zoo was a wonderland for the boy, and he relished the time with one exception. His mother would not permit them to visit the Reptile House. She hated snakes.
Of course, the boy was convinced that he absolutely needed to visit the snakes, lizards, and wonderful reptilian creatures.
So… He did.
And he did it on his own.
Without either of his parents knowing.
As one can imagine, the parents panicked. Their child was missing! All sorts of horrible scenarios flooded their minds.
After desperately searching the nearby area, the parents were advised to head to the park’s entrance. A long ride on a cable car over the zoo provided moments of terror as they looked into the various wildlife areas, just sure that the boy had figured out how to get up close to his beloved animal friends.
Zoo-wide announcements brought no additional information forth about the whereabouts of the child. Police were notified, and the parents anxiously paced at the park’s entrance.
As the police cars pulled up to the zoo’s entrance, the boy strolled up to his parents as if nothing in the world was amiss.
So began the tale of a boy who loved lions, tigers, bears, wolves, and all wild animals, and who did as he pleased on his own terms.
While the term cocky wouldn’t be applied until his later years, the attitude began young. He set out to do what he would do regardless of the opinions of others, and often, with limited concern for the risk.
TheCockyLion.com is an expression of the boy’s rather precocious and determined nature.
After 20+ years of being an online entrepreneur, TheCockyLion.com was launched to share lessons and insights into how to become successful in the new digital age.
Who Exactly Is The Boy In The Story?
Entrepreneurs and experts in this space seem to have a desire to be part of the story they tell. Their websites are often their names. And the status of expert is donned upon them, as they well deserve.
However, the boy in this story realized something as he grew up. Many of us don’t want to be famous or well-known.
This concept seems to baffle and surprise many people.
Sometimes people say something like, “if you’re not doing anything illegal, why do you need to hide.”
At the end of the day, it’s none of your business. Thousands of valid, legal, moral, ethical, and rational reasons exist for a desire for privacy and near-anonymity when starting or running an online business.
TheCockyLion.com is for people who love online business and value the concept of privacy.
Whether you decide to make your identity part of your online business or not, is not my business. It’s your business, and as such, you should have the option to proceed as you best see fit.
You may wonder whether I have an online presence that includes who I am.
The answer is yes. My personal website and social media bare my name and photos and videos of me.
It has been my decision not to include my personal identity as part of the online businesses that I have started and run.
However, if you are in a particular segment of the financial services industry, you might recognize my name and company. The same is true for a small number of book authors that I work with in another one of my businesses. I interact with customers and prospects as myself.
I have other websites that I work to keep completely separate from my identity. I have taken steps to make sure those sites remain as anonymous from me as legally possible.
If your curiosity is overwhelming you, drop me a note on the Contact form, and I’ll share my identity and personal website.
The Cocky Lion's Story Continues to Be Told
If you are wondering, the story above is a true story. My parent will both still emphatically share that it is.
The needlepoint above was made for me by my mother when I was five years old, in 1974. It’s one of the many wildlife pieces that adorn my home.
She still gives me gifts featuring lions. Below is the center of a spectacular quilt she recently made for me.
It’s part of our family lore, and it’s a story that continues to be told.
The Cocky Lion still loves his wildlife. He spends time in wild places in search of the wild animals he loves.
And, despite setbacks, failures, and running into the occasional brick wall, he still stubbornly does as he pleases.
But maybe, after 50 years, he occasionally considers the consequences and listens to advise from others.
