Imagine you’re at a friend’s birthday party. You see a big cake on the table, and without asking, you assume the biggest slice is for you. But when the host comes over, they say that slice is for the birthday boy. You presumed it was yours, but you were wrong because you didn’t check first.

Presumption is like jumping to conclusions without checking the facts.  The below are two great examples of what presumption might look like and why it’s important to consider.

The story, “The Case of Max and the Magic Hat” is one example:

One day, Max found a shiny hat in the park with a note that said, “This hat will make you special.” Max thought, “It must make me invisible!” So he put it on and tried sneaking cookies from the kitchen. But his mom saw him right away and said, “Max! What are you doing?”

Confused, Max replied, “But this hat is supposed to make me invisible!”

His mom laughed. “Who told you that?”

Max realized he just presumed the hat was magical without knowing the truth. Later, he found out the hat simply had a hidden pocket for keeping treasures. Max learned that assuming something without knowing for sure can lead to mistakes.

There other example is a verse in Luke 14 in the Book of all books in which Jesus also speaks of this “umption.”

“Then Jesus noticed that some of the guests were choosing the best places to sit. So he told this story: “When someone invites you to a wedding, don’t sit in the most important seat. They may have invited someone more important than you. And if you are sitting in the most important seat, they will come to you and say, ‘Give this man your seat!’ Then you will have to move down to the last place and be embarrassed. “So when someone invites you, go sit in the seat that is not important. Then they will come to you and say, ‘Friend, move up here to this better place!’ What an honor this will be for you in front of all the other guests. Everyone who makes themselves important will be made humble. But everyone who makes themselves humble will be made important.”” -‭‭Luke‬ ‭14‬:‭7‬-‭11‬ ‭ERV‬‬

In my kids homeschool group we have something we like to call “defining our terms.” What a great skill for all entrepreneurs to learn! When we presume that everyone will love what we have to offer, it’s almost like making ourselves believe that, like the story,  a magic hat is supposed to make us invisible. Or that the large piece of cake, or the ‘seat up front’ is for us. When we find out it’s not, then what? It’s best to ask questions… lot’s of them. Entrepreneurs do this before or while starting a new project. Learn more about this important step called research by taking a look at last week’s post! There’s always more to learn so don’t be afraid to start here and always be curious (abc) :)!