I have recently spoken to several people who have had major events occur in their lives – a wedding, a graduation, a layoff, a house fire, the loss of a loved one and a new baby.  Some of these people were business owners and some worked a corporate job and each of them handled the situations very differently.

These examples really got me thinking of how I deal with major events, good and bad, and what my perspective is.  I have handled major events in different ways including  – taking a break from everything, taking a break from a few things, pretending as though the event was to have no effect, getting additional support in the forms of a listening ear, more coaching, someone to delegate to, and many things in between.

In hind site, I recognize those things that I did that supported me in reaching my goal for balance and happiness and those things that were just some form of burying my head in the sand.

Weather you are a small business owner or work in the corporate world there are going to be things that come up or happen that can interfere in your progress.  A new baby, new house, a re-org, illness, death in the family, etc.  Each one of these events requires the appropriate time and attention to properly deal with them but when they happen…Do they become something that needs to be moved off the track or do they completely derail you?

The answer is all in your chosen perception of the situation.  And yes I said chosen.

When my clients come to me with life events that can be derailing I encourage them to review their goals, the big why behind the goals and who do they have to become in order to move forward honoring both the event AND still move forward with grace and ease.  We come up with solutions to working WITH the event and not choosing the event over success.  I support them in creating the “and” instead of the “or” (either I work on the graduation OR I work on my business).

So I ask you this, when your next major event comes up, will you let it derail you by…

• changing your plans
• changing your focus
• postponing self care
• stopping working your business
• stopping forward movement
• burying your head in the sand

or will you live life in the “and” by moving forward with the love and support to live a balanced and fulfilling life.

 

As a business coach I am always seeing the coaching “gems”, as I call them, in every situation.  I often times am able to relate  situations to business, however, the recent events in Colorado really had me struggling.  Since May this year, Colorado has made national news for 3 wildfires and the recent shootings at the Century 16 movie theatre.  While I am sure there is business coaching insight here,  I would not be authentic to write this from any other place than the deepest place in my heart.

I have seen the most remarkable response to these tragedies in Colorado.  I have seen more people step up to help, step out to commune and open up to love more deeply.  I have seen people offer their homes, donate goods and resources to support the fire victims.  I have seen our state come together to share “ours” with those who lost “theirs” – not just things, but real sharing of the heart.  It has been simply amazing!!  And I must add,  I am not surprised at all 🙂

I visited the Century 16 memorial and found an outpouring of love and support as those of us mourned the victims who didn’t survive and prayed for those who did.  Tears rolled down many a face when we visited, 4 days after the horrific incident, and yet you could feel the connection to each of us who stood at the crosses of the victims who had been slain.  I search for ways to support the victims as well as to spread peace and love to their families.  Prayer has been my answer, as it always is during times like these.

I am teary even as I write this because Colorado has always been and will always be home.  The home that I LOVE!.  The place I reside and the home in my heart.  I truly have felt the love that Coloradans share with their fellow man and am deeply touched.  From these tragedies my heart feels loss but fills with love.  My hope is that each person has the same response of “feeling” and “filling”.

Thank you for allowing me to share my heart with you.  I would love to spread more love via this blog so please share with those who you think would appreciate.

Many blessings and much gratitude to you!

 

 

I was recently on the Padre Island beach enjoying a beautiful day with the waves kissing my feet as I walking along the coastline.  I watched the clams get uncovered or washed up on the shore and then burrow back down in the sand.  They did this over and over again to avoid being eaten by the seagulls that hovered above.  The waves would unbury the clams time and time again for hours on end.  I thought to myself, what an interesting existence, to do the same thing over and over and over again merely to survive.

I began to get curious about how many business owners live a similar existence.  To burrow down into what appears to be a safe place, only to have the waves of business wash away all that feels safe and secure.  How many entrepreneurs are going through the same motions over and over again merely out of survival.  I have experienced this in my own business more times than I like to admit.  I recognize that it is a learning that likely, every business owner experiences to some degree.

Thankfully we are not clams.  We have a higher level of thinking.  We get to choose if we operate as the clams do or choose something better.  So what does it take to break out of our shell?  What is it like to choose a different place for safety?

For myself and my clients, it takes awareness that there is something better.  It also takes courage to stop burrowing and to start moving toward something different, even if we don’t know exactly what different means.  And most of all it takes a higher level of thinking that that of the clam.  Thinking in terms of possibilities instead of survival, in terms of freedom instead of a known comfort zone, in terms of acceptance that waves come and go but it is our calling to do more than just burrow over and over again.

As you look at your business, and life, what areas are you living like a clam?  What would it take to break out of your shell and live the life you were truly called for?

This last week has been quite interesting.  My business has been growing and very exciting projects are coming to fruition.  My family and I have been preparing for testing for our red belts in tae kwon do and we just came off of a wonderful Easter weekend with family.  Having an emergency kitchen counter top replacement completely knocked me off center.

Here are my lessons learned from the “counter project”.

Lesson 1 – Plan and Mange what you can

The counter project required some over site during business hours which inevitably took time away from my normal business activities.  This was probably the biggest contributor to really knocking me off center.   Because I hired a contractor, I viewed it as their project” so I didn’t schedule in time to manage it nor did I plan to work extra hours during off hours to make up for lost production time in my business.   In hind site, I needed to plan this project as if it were my own and schedule my business activities accordingly.

Lesson 2 – Get over it!

Going without a sink for 9 days was such an interesting experience.  I found myself at the mercy of my little 1/2 bath sink or the upstairs bathtub for running water.  Interestingly enough I kept begrudgingly going to the little sink or even going without because I kept telling myself “just a few more days”.  I realized that I was “suffering through” the situation and quite honestly allowed my frustration with the inconvenience to prevent me from doing the best thing that needed to be done – go to the sink!  I truly needed to accept the situation and just get over it!

Lesson 3 – Self Care

Self neglect is one of the top things many high achievers are prone to.  Sometimes it is because they are habitually putting everyone/everything else first and sometimes it is because they don’t realize how easy self care really is.  During the last week and a half, I have ensured that I got the important and urgent things done AND I also needed a few minutes each day to “relax, relate and release”.  Relax my mind and body of all things that were in a state of flux.  Relate with my friends, family, colleagues so that I could be energized by those who weren’t in the middle of it.  Release from the things that I truly had no influence/impact on.

Every business owner will experience something that can knock them off center – a counter project, a flu, an illness in the family, etc.  The trick is to do the things that bring you back in balance so that  you recover quickly.