Business Savvy

Have a grateful heart

Grateful Heart Art Print
Pope, Katherine &…
8 in. (200 mm) x 20 in. (508 mm)
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Sometimes things don’t go as you, in all your wisdom, want them to go. The best business books – you know the ‘scratch with the turkeys or soar with the eagles’ ones will tell you to redouble your efforts even if it means bursting that vein and going to the great beyond…

My experience (learned with some pain, mind you) is that some time it’s best to just let go that particular idea, and see what alternatives present themselves. Often the solution that appears is so magical, so innovative you would never have thought of it in common hours. I believe it is best to approach things with a grateful heart and be open to the gifts that the challenges bring. And, yes, I know the pain of not getting my own way, but I generally try to avoid acting like a spoiled brat when the universe has another plan.

Have some faith in yourself, change your thinking, be grateful for the challenge – lesser people than you would’ve given up by now. Prove something to yourself.

Now I Know

Now I Know Art Print
18 in. (457 mm) x 24 in. (610 mm)
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Easier said than done – being yourself, that is. I believe the way forward is to remember yourself – your best self – and then be the person you always wanted to be.

To be nobody but yourself in a world which is doing its best, night and day, to make you everybody else means to fight the hardest battle which any human being can fight; and never stop fighting. ~ e.e. cummings, 1955

If we work, however, on ourselves, and on our business or trade, without negative compromise, it is reasonable to expect that you will achieve mastery. Don’t expect instant results – I have yet to find anything of real substance that can be mastered in less than 10,000 hours. Perhaps I’m wrong. Come back to me after you’ve spent 10,000 hours mastering something, and then tell me how you really got it after 2,000 hours and the rest of the time was just to prove me wrong.

Encouragement

Encouragement: Climbers Art Print
28 in (711 mm). x 22 in. (559 mm)
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The finest gift you can give anyone is encouragement. Yet, almost no one gets the encouragement they need to grow to their full potential. If everyone received the encouragement they need to grow, the genius in most everyone would blossom and the world would produce abundance beyond the wildest dreams. We would have more than one Einstein, Edison, Schweitzer, Mother Theresa, Dr. Salk and other great minds in a century. — Sidney Madwed

Sometimes being in business can be incredibly lonely. If you are in a partnership and you are having issues with your business partner who can you talk to about it? If you are a sole trader things are even worse. Your bank manager perhaps, if she or he are genuinely as friendly as the tv ads suggest. Your accountant or lawyer – sure – have your wallet handy. It’s a good idea to join a local business association and seek out like minded company – note – get people with strong minds – misery loves company and you don’t need more company misery. I’ve done plenty of bar tending in my time – don’t expect me to listen to you weeping in your beer unless you’ve got a big tip to go with it. Despite that flippant comment, the way can be long and the burden can be heavy for some people, and you can make a difference.

We live by encouragement and die without it – slowly, sadly, angrily. — Celeste Holm

I’ve worked with so many people who have died in their jobs – slowly, sadly, angrily – bitter people who were once bright-eyed kids. Get up, get out of your swamp, and take some action. At the very, very least, offer a word of encouragement to fellow pilgrim. En – courage – to put courage into others. Be the difference in someone’s life – who knows, you might save their life with your encouraging words.

Challenge Yourself

Challenge Yourself, Extreme Sport Poster
36 in. (914mm) x 24 in. (610mm)
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Mark Twain said:

Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.

Ultimately the game is all about you. Launching your business, running your business is a scary and yet incredibly rewarding thing to do. But you will be rewarded, often in ways unexpected, and who knows, you might even make some money along the way. Sometimes things work out fantastically well, sometimes it’s just a disaster. But that’s all part of the challenge. Stick to your game plan, don’t fret about the size of your business – a small garden, well tilled, is something to be proud of. You’re writing the story of your life – you might as well come back with great stories of the day you caught the perfect wave. Or would you rather tell about how you managed to unjam the photocopier, or how you opened a new packet of paper clips and chained them all together…