As I am writing this, it is late in October and it
is snowing like it is mid February. A
quick glance on Facebook – and I hurried to jump off. Why?
Whining and complaining about the snow, events being cancelled, and what
an inconvenience it is.
For all of us, life happens. There are sunny days and snowy days. There are good times and sad times. There are challenges and there are successes.
For some people – it appears as though they live for
the drama. They cannot wait for the next
distraction or deterrent to “cripple them into inaction”. This allows them to blame their inaction on
someone or something else. In reality –
their own inactivity is what is slowing their progress down and NOT that thing
or situation.
For others, they handle the speed bumps and hiccups
of life as just that – speed bumps and hiccups.
They don’t allow these events to slow them down or stop them from moving
forward toward their goal.
Years ago a friend and mentor, Mark Gorman, did a
wonderful talk on “The Twig of ’93”.
Mark’s talk was based on a line from the movie “A Bug’s Life” where the
group is all processing – when all of a sudden – a leaf falls in their
path. The bug’s immediately stop. Discussion ensues on what to do. One of the leaders steps up and says,
“Stop. We are trained
professionals. We will go around the
leaf.” The group is amazed. They never realized this was an option.
Isn’t that what many of us do when something arises
that stops the smooth sailing of our ship?
We become numb, unable to do anything but stop our progress.
I know that is EXACTLY what many people on Facebook
did on October 29th. They
stopped. They froze. They whined.
They complained. None of that
made any progress.
What did we do in the Orendi house? We did a course correction. A slight change in plans and we made it a
productive day. We tackled projects that
had been sitting on the back burner. We
took time to clear away tasks that were time sensitive.
Consider that we are ships made to sail the mighty
seas of life. We were NOT made to sit in
dock in calm waters. We were made for
stormy seas. We were given brains that
can come up with creative ways to solve dilemmas.
Your success will always be determined by the level
of problems you can solve.
Was this a crippling snow in the north east. No.
This snowfall was a reminder of how beautiful the landscape looks with
untouched white snow everywhere. This
was an opportunity for all of us to realize that there is something greater
than us that is in charge. Should we
allow it to thrust us into stagnation or to become numb in peril? No.
After spending years in multi-level businesses, I
witnessed people who yearned for days like this. It was their excuse to do nothing.
If you own a business or are in sales or operate a
home based business – look at your calendar.
If your business is struggling today – go back 6 months and look at your
activity in promoting / working your business.
What went on last April that stopped your progress? What froze you into inaction?
Chances are, once you look back – you will have the
answer to why things are the way they are today.
It’s not the fault of the economy, the President,
Congress, or some other factor.
The man who made buggy whips blamed the economy,
progress and other factors. The reality
is – he did not meet the changing demands of the buying public.
The operators
of Hills Department Stores, Zayres, Mongomery Wards and many other retail
stores did not change to meet the demands of the changing buying public.
Would now be a good time to open a Blockbuster Video
store? How about a business where you
build carborators?
Times change.
People change. Stuff happens.
But it’s how you react to it that makes all the
difference in the world.
Have a great week
Ron
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