What do you do when life buries you? 

Every founder hits moments that feel like you are being buried alive under problems, pressure, or setbacks. 

But what if, like the donkey in the well parable, the dirt being thrown your way is actually the path out? This issue of Storytelling for Entrepreneurs is about reframing, the mental shift that turns struggle into strength.

In today’s issue, I’ll share:

Enjoy going down…and getting out of the well…LG

One day a farmer’s donkey fell into an abandoned well behind the farmhouse.

The old animal cried and whined for hours while his owner paced the rim of the pit, scratching his head and trying to figure out what to do.

Finally, the farmer decided that, since the donkey was old and the well needed covering up anyway, he would simply let nature take its course, he would bury the old donkey right there in the well.

He grabbed a shovel and began filling in the pit with dirt. The animal kept up its wailing, its braying echoing off the stone walls of the well as each spade-ful of earth landed beside it.

After a while, the donkey fell silent.

The farmer believed the animal had either given up or been buried so deeply that no more sound could escape. So he kept shoveling, each heap of dirt sliding down and settling around the donkey. 

What he didn’t know was that the old donkey had quietly come up with a plan.

At first, when the donkey realized what was happening, the digging, the shifting earth, the steady fall of soil onto his back, he panicked. He kicked and kicked, braying as loud as he could. 

But the more he kicked, the more the dirt kept coming. Eventually, exhausted and hopeless, he stopped.

In that quiet, something changed.

The donkey noticed that each time a shovel of dirt hit his back, he could shake it off and take a small step upward.

So that’s what he did. He shook off the dirt, found his footing, and stepped up. Then came another load. 

Shake it off. Step up.

Over and over, dirt after dirt, the mound beneath him grew higher. With each careful movement, one hoof, then another, he climbed closer to the light.

So while the farmer assumed he was burying the donkey, the donkey worked, quietly, steadily, using each load of dirt as a platform rather than a tomb. He stayed silent and disciplined, letting the dirt pile up, step after step, building his way out.

Eventually the mound of earth rose high enough for him to lift his head above the lip of the well. 

With one final shake and a determined push from his hind legs he jumped free and trotted off around the farm, alive and surprisingly free.

In that moment the very thing meant to bury the donkey became the path by which he climbed out of the pit.

"They tried to bury us, but they didn't know we were seeds."
~ Mexican Proverb

The donkey's journey from trapped victim to triumphant survivor mirrors nearly every founder's path through early-stage adversity.

What makes this parable powerful isn't just the escape, it's the transformation we all recognize as founders: that shift from overwhelm to breakthrough on our startup journey.

When the braying stopped and the donkey looked at the situation with a calm mind, he discovered something every founder must learn: the dirt being thrown at you isn't always meant to bury you. Sometimes it's the very material you need to build your way out.

Below are three lessons every founder can take from this parable on transforming your struggles, constraints, and seemingly impossible situations into the foundation to build your brand on.

Positive reframing reduces stress and anxiety by 57%, according to a Journal of Clinical Psychology study. That same shift in mindset is what the donkey parable illustrates so well, turning what feels like a setback into a steppingstone.

When founders face failure, rejection, or tough pivots, reframing challenges as opportunities activates the same mental pattern. It keeps the brain in problem-solving mode instead of panic. A meta-analysis of 127 studies found that people who pair adaptability with purpose-driven focus perform up to 2.5 times better in high-pressure environments.

In this video by Solomon TV, Rich Roll reads a letter to his younger self, a reflection on addiction, redemption, and the power of change. Once a Stanford swimmer with big dreams, he spiraled into alcoholism and self-destruction. By forty, he was overweight, lost, and facing the consequences of years buried under his own choices.

Like the donkey in the well, Rich learned to use the dirt that was burying him as the fuel that lifted him up. Running became his shovel. Discipline became his climb. And each small, painful step built the foundation for the ultra-endurance athlete, author, and voice for transformation he is today.