Your business doesn’t matter. The universe said so

On September 5th, 1977, Voyager 1 was launched. It was part of NASA’s Voyager program, aiming to explore the outer solar system and interstellar space beyond the sun’s heliosphere.

In March 2026, at a distance of 25.8 billion km from Earth, it was the most distant human-made object from Earth. It is scheduled to reach a distance of one light-day from Earth in November 2026.

That’s the distance light travels within a day, and it took Voyager 1 almost 50 years to travel this distance.

Voyager 1 will continue its flight through interstellar space, probably running out of power sometime in the 2030s. Provided it will not collide with anything, it will continue flying away from Earth and our solar system. The closest solar system to our own is Alpha Centauri, some 4 light-years away. Given the fact that Voyager 1 covered 1 light day in 50 years, it would reach Alpha Centauri in roughly 75,000 years from now.

Why does this matter? It just shows how small we are. We’re not even sure if the closest solar system contains life, yet it would take us 75,000 years to reach it.

And what do we do here on Earth? We behave as if we’re the kings of the universe. Let’s ground ourselves and get humble again.

Our world is so small

Let’s start with our planet. We hear from astronauts who have left Earth that seeing our planet from above showed them how fragile it is.

Yet we’ve been living beyond our resources for decades, consuming the substance of our Earth, with no plan B available. Remember that the next solar system is some 4 light-years or 75,000 years of space travel away. Whatever might come our way, we’re stuck on Earth, and we have to make do with what we have.

Your business is so much smaller

Then there are very successful entrepreneurs on our small Earth, such as Elon Musk. One of his businesses, Starlink, aims to build rockets for reaching Mars. As impressive as this might be in terms of engineering, let me share a secret with you, Elon: Your business doesn’t matter in cosmic terms. Your planned biggest-ever IPO is not even noticed in every corner of our planet, yet beyond our solar system or even our galaxy. And even if you ever reach Mars with your rockets, remember that the next solar system is some 4 light-years or 75,000 years of space travel away, will you?

You see, not even very large and very successful businesses on Earth matter in cosmic terms. So what about all those small startups, such as Yonder, the B2B SaaS company I co-founded? Here is the naked truth: If they disappear, the universe will not even notice. No wiggle in gravity, no abnormal observations in spectral images. Just nothing.

So why do you take your business so seriously all the time? Why do you worry day and night about success and failure?

As a person, you’re not even tiny, you’re stardust

Now, assume that despite (or because of) all the worrying about your business, you’ve made it. Your company is profitable, and you could sell it at a handsome price.

You might feel like a king, thinking you’re superior to others because hey, you made it. You sold your company at a handsome price when most others failed. But you know what will happen after you die? The world keeps turning, and the universe keeps expanding.

And even long before you can sell your company, many entrepreneurs think they are indispensable to their companies. Here is one more secret: Nobody is indispensable. The world will keep turning when you’re suddenly hit by a bus, and most probably, your company will keep running, too. And if it doesn’t because you failed to organize it properly before your death, it will follow you to the dark side shortly after your funeral.

In both cases, the universe doesn’t care.

Conclusion

Even if you’re a titan on Earth, you’re just a piece of dust in the universe. Similarly, our Earth is just a piece of dust in the universe. If we screw up our home planet, it’s fatal for us, but the universe will not notice.

But for us humans, there is no Plan B for our Earth. Although we know that we don’t matter to the universe, we have the privilege of living on a beautiful planet. Shouldn’t that keep us humble rather than megalomaniac?

This article is also published on the author's blog. illuminem Voices is a democratic space presenting the thoughts and opinions of leading Sustainability & Energy writers, their opinions do not necessarily represent those of illuminem.

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