Instead of sitting in some auditorium, or reading a certain book, my inspirational speaker has been a different fellow. You may at first think this post odd being categorized under Business Tips and Planning, but please read on...
My brother passed away on October 5th after a 1 1/2 battle with prostate cancer. For those of us that have lost a loved one (I have now lost both of my siblings and my Mom,) part of the mourning process is self reflective. We take heed of our own lives - We ponder our own self worth, things we've accomplished, things we have not, as well as life's pleasures and sorrows.
Life is well life - No pity party here. If you go through it thinking "Why Me?" "I Should of...," "Well...That's because..." - You know what? It will just pass you by.
So let's reflect on that in terms on how we look at ourselves within our businesses. We are all independent business owners; it's a part of our self make up, our life's elevator speech. And how COOL is that? We determine our own business destiny. We get to plan our path - With that, let me share with you things I've learned from my favorite motivational speaker - Death.
He's a bare bones kind of guy. He helps you make finalized plans, his directional message launches lessons smack into your psyche - No warm and fuzzy accolades or sayings from this speaker.
When my Mom passed away in '98, I sat intently listening to her eulogy and absorbed her wonderful life story balanced with a perfect mix of family, work, play and volunteerism. Toward the end of her life, although afflicted with a dire disease, she continued to live life at full speed - Golfing while Terminal. It took her death to motivate me to act on my new career path. There sitting in a drawer for three years was information on specialty training in Interior Redesign & Home Staging. There is sat in that drawer -Waiting for me to say the cost was worth the educational results, waiting for me to say I had the time to juggle kids/ husband with work, waiting for me to devote myself to building a business. Within 6 months of her death, I had started a new business, and taken that training - Moving full speed into a career I felt passionate about. Now going on 11 years, I just love my job. So what did Death teach me? Do not wait for some revelation to be motivated to move on a passion - Just Do It!
So now with the passing of my brother, I reflected on what fills my day. Made up of only so many hours, how do you want to spend it? Time management is a huge issue with many business owners. How wonderful that we get to dictate how each of our days is spent? But how easy is it to let that control go? The key here is to create that perfect recipe of success - To balance it correctly, make room for that perfect harmony of family - work - play. Create that list of what is important to you within those areas to make your day fulfilled - Are you busy Twittering, when you could be taking a beautiful fall walk with your spouse/child/self instead? Can you give yourself a raise, which will allow you to spend more time doing a hobby, or taking a class? Can you hire a service/person to free up tasks you dislike? Evaluate your hours spent during the day and how that's working in terms that perfect recipe for success.
Pretty great speaker isn't he?
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