At the time of this writing I am sitting in a coffee shop far from home. I am not here because of a business meeting or speaking engagement. Instead an unplanned event brought me to Denver, Colorado, to celebrate the life of my Uncle who recently passed. For the first time in many weeks I find myself with a few hours to wind down. Of course, there is no winding down. My mind is constantly going.
Life events often cause us to reflect because we spend too much time in the weeds worrying about how we are going to increase sales, pay the bills, find that next employee, gain more production, and cut costs. Even vacations can become a new form of planned chaos. Air travel, seeing the sights, and figuring out all the activities we are going to do because we don’t want to ‘waste a moment’ of the trip. What we fail to realize is that life goes on and we don’t spend enough time on the important stuff that makes life worth living.
Change happens whether we want it to or not. This is far more visible in our personal lives than corporate. The business world preaches about change and how important it is. There are consultants who specialize in change management. Even I spend a great deal of time working with business owners on the steps they need to take for any change process to work. Still change is a constant struggle. Even when you WANT to change the old habits will surface. Creating a new normal involved conscious thought before it can become subconscious action.
Become The Catalyst For Change
My clients come to be looking for change. The trigger is usually the realization that change is happening beyond their control and it’s impacting the quality of their lives. Reasons for taking action assume many forms. Maybe their health is deteriorating. It could be experiencing a loss of a loved one. Sometimes it may be to stave off a divorce. Whatever the reason some outside force drives the move. Until then whatever you are doing, and however frustrating the results are, will continue.
I was on a mastermind call recently and we were discussing terminating bad employees. One observation shared was you should probably fire a person when you start asking yourself the question about letting that employee go. We have thoughts about when we should make changes in our lives but we want to wait until the best time. We deceive ourselves by saying we will do it when we have more money or more time and those events never come. Instead it’s when your children have grown and you realize you missed some of the most important events in their lives. Maybe it’s when your significant other sits you down to tell you they want a divorce. Change waits for no one. If you are passive about it you too will realize what you’ve missed.
Business owners start companies because they believe they can do better than they would as an employee for someone else. They are willing to take the risk for a greater reward. Many times the reward is never fully realized and the vehicle to gain prosperity and freedom becomes the prison for stress and anxiety. The life you want to create gives in to the life your business dictates you will have.
My message is simple. Be an active participant. Be proactive. Don’t wait for the right time. Friends and family are what is truly important. You can create an enterprise that WILL give you the life you want. Ask for help. Invest the resources necessary to reduce the stresses that end up costing you the freedom you want.
My uncle did a lot of things with his life and made an impact on a great many people. He traveled, camped, and spent time with his family. Over all, he enjoyed life. Let that be your legacy too