How committed are you to the cause?

Everyone is committed to something. We all have a cause, or purpose. Even if you choose not to commit to something, like a relationship, or a job, or a business, you are still committing to not commit.

The level of commitment you make to anything in life, will determine the level of success you achieve. It is a simple matter of fact. Commitment is a choice we are all faced with at some point.

However; today I want to share some thoughts to encourage anyone facing a challenging time with a project, business, or relationship.

Taking business as an example – It’s easy to make a commitment to branch out on your own when your pumped about the perks being your own boss entails, (five to ten years down the line) but it doesn’t look so pretty when you are a few months in, and things don’t seem to be growing as fast as you hoped they would.

So what do you do when you find yourself at a crossroad of:

Do you choose to carry on, or do you choose to give up?

Giving up is easy. To some it may seem like the safe option, but to others (like myself) giving up is a risk I am not prepared to take; and neither should you.

This doesn’t just apply to start up businesses, but to every kind of organization, project manager, marketing department, team, mother, family, friend and relationship.

In life circumstances have the tendency to cloud our judgement, and given their ability to change like the wind. It’s healthy to remind ourselves why we choose to commit to something way back when.

Some things in life take longer to grow than others, and like the good old sayings state:

“Rome wasn’t built in a day.” No matter how green the grass looks on the other side of your hill, it’s always greener where you water it.

Staying committed to the cause requires reflection, and determination to press through the challenging circumstances of life.

 

Big dream, big opposition.

Have you ever noticed when you go to a fairground the bigger they have all kinds of games like hook the duck, bullseye etc. Have you also noticed that the bigger the prize, the bigger the challenge?

I could be making this up, (it’s late) but here’s my point; The bigger the dream, the bigger the opposition. So don’t give up when life throws you lemons, twists them and make lemonade instead.

Nothing worth having, comes without cost or challenge, so buckle up and hold on tight.

 

The Gardener knows…

Have you ever watched the process of a gardener as he plants his seed?

The gardener understands that in order for a seed to produce a harvest, it must first grow down, before it shoots up. This is the picture of what a dream looks like, and in fact this can be applied to many situations, work, life, relationships.

In order for something to grow, and become a reality in our lives there is a process. Often this process can go in the complete opposite direction than we hoped it would, but understand this:

“Just because something looks impossible, doesn’t mean it is impossible.”

Our perception can trick us if we only look at the moment we inserted the seed, and return when it is fully grown.

There will be businesses that flourish faster than others, in the same way there will be careers and lives, which seem to accelerate beyond you at times, but don’t compare. Appearances can be deceiving. Just keep running your own race, and understand that there is a process for everyone…

Taking time to avoid burning out.

I don’t know about you, or where you sit in life, but the world I see seems to have gone on this speedy travelator that people find hard to stop. Caught in a trap of never being satisfied, always comparing themselves to others, and disconcertingly transforming ourselves into digital avatars; and at the same time loosing touch with immediate world around us, (the people living next door).

Do I believe in social media? Of course I do. It’s a great tool? Yes, but it should never be a substitute for the real deal, building true relationships with real people, traveling to real places. Gosh, we don’t even need to move from our comfort chairs anymore. The world has uploaded itself onto a digital platform, called the internet.

Is the internet bad? No. I love the doors it has opened, however; I do believe there are elements of this digitally drive world that do more damage than good. For example; it’s pretty easy to spend hours on social networks like Facebook, Pinterest, or Twitter, and there are many people that do; but what are we really sowing into by doing that?

I hope there’s purpose in it, because time is valuable. Better yet, it’s a gift, and there are too many distractions out there that can easily taper our vision, and lead us away from our purpose ever so slightly. You can miss the mark by a millimeter, and you have still missed the mark. Please note, missing the mark is in reference to loosing focus, and in no way shape or form reflects the value of a person. I believe that everyone reading this is unique, beautiful and has a purpose that they are either living out, or on the journey of discovery.

So what’s your purpose? Have you thought about it? It’s OK if you don’t have it all figured out, I’m just sharing my heart tonight, which is just as challenging for me as it is for any reader.

What has lead you to where you are today? Are you in the right career, or relationship for the right reasons?  Where are you spending time most? The idea is not to get us to doubt what is good, but to press home that taking time to stop, appreciate and reflect is    vital to avoid a burn out.

I believe that where your heart is, (i.e. where you spend your time, money, thoughts), is your treasure is. So, lets make sure we’re sowing the right seeds into the right ground, so that tomorrow’s harvest will be a great one.

Talking point: Knowledge isn’t enough.

Being knowledgable in an area, or skill is only the first step to gaining success, or significance within that field. Anyone can bluff their way round a topic, and get by with reading a few articles here and there, and taking it as their own. It may sound good, and many will be happy to work at that level.

For anyone wanting more out of life holistically, I believe everything has its time and season and in all honesty I believe to gain traction and stamina within your market, or choosen field you really need so much more. I hope to share that more with you one day soon, but I really want to hear from those who read this. What do you think about what I’ve just said? Would you agree, or disagree? What do you think more is?

You can leave your comments below, or pop on over to the Facebook page, or Twitter and leave them there. Do you think knowledge is enough to survive in today’s industry?

Changing gears…

Just like a car is forced to change gears in order to build momentum when climbing a hill. Life can be a little like that sometimes too. Every season has its shifts, and changes. Moments where you feel like business, or life has slowed down a gear, just to speed up into the next; and speed up it does.

Gears change depending on the external circumstances. Sometimes when life presents itself as a challenge. When you step out in faith that you can provide a particular service to a client, or you take on a few extra projects/employees this year. In those moments, we need to get good at listening for the gear change, and adjust accordingly.

Whether that means stepping it up a notch or two, pushing in to get the job done and persevere, or maybe you’re in a season that’s changing, and causes you to slow down to prepare for what’s up ahead. Either way. It’s a passing thought that sometimes life requires us to change gears. Have you noticed?

Change requirement

Sometimes change requires us to shave of the excess, in order to complete the dish…

Pushing through the pain

We all have pain spots in life. Those are the irritable touch points of life, like having a partner with an annoying bad habit, or getting up before dawn to go run on a treadmill at the gym, when you really want to be fast asleep in bed… but those aren’t the kind of pain spots I’m talking about really.

I’m talking about pushing through the pain of finishing something. Sometimes when we have a dream, or an idea we just want to be there now. Sometimes when we’ve said yes to doing something, we regret our commitment half way through.

Whether that’s taking on a new client, or renewing an old client; even when we knew they were sticky from our last encounter. It’s good to finish what we start; and sometimes in life and in business we are required to push through those pain spots until breaking point is reached.

And I’m not talking about breaking point as in, losing the plot. The breaking point I’m referring to would be better likened to those specially made windows of glass used in the fire alarm devices we see strapped to the walls, in public places. You know the ones… The ones with the dot in the centre to illustrate the weakest point of the glass…

Whatever that breaking point means for you, let’s remember what pain spots really are: Spots. The dictionary definition of a spot explains that spots are a particular place, or point; or a small amount of something. This suggests to me that pain spots are seasonal, not permanent, and won’t last.

So don’t quite half way through! Even when things are out with your responsibility. That difficult client situation could in the end teach you something more valuable if you let it; even if it’s as simple as how to deal with a similar client in the future, or what not to agree to perhaps.

 

 

 

Feel the fear, and do it anyway.

Whether you’re attempting to start a business, or own a multi-million business everyone has experienced moments of fear on some level.

Fear of the unknown, fear of risk, afraid of doing it wrong or failing. Like I mentioned in yesterday’s blog, we shouldn’t be scared of failing. We should learn to love it.

Whatever stage your business is at, don’t be scared of social media, or blogging. You need to embrace it because it’s not going away. Take the plunge, and give it ago. You won’t know until you try. Of course these are just the lessons I am learning, and gaining through my own experiences.

The best way to know if something works or not, it’s to try it. Think of it like dipping your toe in the water, before you dive into the pool.

Although I am talking to start-ups, or businesses that have yet to make the switch to Social Media; this post is applicable for everyone, from every background.

Oh, and one last thing. When it comes to blogging for business;

1. Get one – Last year was the year to get one, so get one fast, and start sharing. This year it’s all about context.
2. Be as consistent as you can – Choose a timeframe, daily, weekly, fortnightly or monthly and stick too it.
3. Be as relevant as you can to your industry. No sales talk. Think about what your consumers would be interested in.
4. Have fun, and be creative. Video is huge, and QR codes are going to be huge. Sorry to all designers out there. They may not be pretty, but they’re already on the increase in the US. If you haven’t already seen them on a billboard or magazine, they look like this:

You can check out YouTube, and WordPress for tutorials on how to do that. (Note to self you must switch domains asap).

If you like this blog. Please don’t forget to leave a comment, or share your thoughts, (even if you don’t like it. I’d love to hear what, and why). You can also subscribe to this blog by entering your email in the top right hand side, (so you wont miss out).

I’ve got some really exciting news about to break blog readers. All will be revealed within the next two weeks!! Look forward to sharing with you soon.

Are you unteachable?

Earlier this week I published a blog titled, Are you teachable? The blog was short, and to the point, as most of my posts are, and seemed to glean a positive response from those who read it.

I posed the question on Monday, Are you teachable, with the aim to open up peoples minds to the possibility of another option, process or idea.

Today I want to extend that post a little further, and address a statement that that was put to myself out of sheer frustration, (and validly so) that I was unteachable. After stopping to consider this thought, and after giving it some analysis I have to concluded that it is in fact untrue, and unfounded.

I don’t believe there is anyone who is unteachable. From a very young age, we are all forced to learn the basis of our identity, and culture through various external factors. In fact wouldn’t it be fair to say instead that we all just learn at different speeds, and through various methods. I would even go as far to say that being teachable is an choice, or an attitude in that we choose to be open to something other than what we already known.

I’m no expert in the psychology of these things, and this is just my thoughts on the matter, but rather than ruling ourselves out because we haven’t scored a higher mark than smart alex next door. Perhaps our brains just process information differently. It seems to make sense given the diversity of personalities, likes, dislikes, skills and abilities. It doesn’t make us less intelligent, but it does mean that we’re different, and that’s ok too.

I am not unteachable. I just process information differently. Most often this perception comes from a lack of focus in that particular moment, when the million of thoughts crowding my mind distract me from the matter at hand – that doesn’t make me unteachable. That just makes me, me.