Seeing Results

I like to see results, evidence that my actions have produced some outcome.  The outcome could be a tasty meal, an organized home, a fun experience, a beautiful painting, and of course a thriving business.  For many of these activities, results come fairly quickly, but I knew that would not always be the case in my business.  Since patience was never one of my virtues I knew it was something I had to learn if I were to succeed in business (and life).  I knew I needed to trust that results would come and be patient as I created the environment for them.

My first year in business I dilligently and consistently “planted seeds” by focusing on becoming visible in my new community and making connections with great people.  I believed in everything I was doing, that all my marketing and PR activities would eventually begin to show results.  Yet, during those initial months I did sometimes question whether everything I was doing was “right” and thought maybe I was missing something, especially when the results were not showing up as quickly as I wanted them to (did I mention patience was not one of my virtues?)

Even though I questioned and wondered, I stayed true to my plan and kept moving forward.  Sure enough, all my activities started to pay off!  So I kept going with the same consistency and 4 years later my results continue…

What results are you seeking?

What environment have you created for them to come?

Just The Way You Are

Last week I posted this question on Facebook “What would it mean to truly accept yourself – just the way you are, just the way things are – for today?”

It came from one of my earlier posts, Accepting Yourself.  Some of the comments I received show how challenging this truly is so I thought it deserved more discussion.  Comments included – “I would truly have to push myself to accomplish this”, “It would be the ultimate accomplishment”, “I don’t think I have ever been in that place. Definitely something to strive for”. 

Why do you think accepting ourselves and our lives just the way we/they are today is so challenging to do?  Acceptance does not mean giving up on growth.   What it means to me is being OK with what is here now as we plan for what’s next.  It means focusing more on what we are walking toward rather than trying to escape from. 

When I was really ready to leave New York my dislike for where I was living intensified at first.  The thing was, though I was “ready” in my mind, we were not “ready” in reality since we didn’t know where we did want to live yet.  I realized this intense dislike was causing me more harm than good so I chose instead to make the best of where I was while we were planning our move.  This choice eased the rush to move and gave us the freedom to truly focus on what we wanted for our new home/community, to get excited about it and plan for it.  We were really OK just the way were were living for years, we just wanted something different – and we found it.  When we did, we knew it was right and not just an escape!

One Step

In my article titled “Your Commitment Step” I talk about taking one step.  One step, that by taking it will have a ripple effect and put you in motion toward achieving your bigger goals.  The one step must be one that is out of your comfort zone, usually just over the threshold of comfort.  It has to be uncomfortable enough, that when you take it, it feels like a commitment, like the huge weight of indecision has been lifted and you are on your path.  It should feel big to you – even if on the surface it looks small. 

For me, the one step was putting our house in NY up for sale (tell story of flight home)  Yes, that does not seem like a large commitment – after all we could have easily taken it off the market, but to me that decision to publically list our house was monumental and represented our internal firm commitment to start our lives over in a new place.  The build up to that moment was scary, often disappointing (especially when we were not finding what we wanted in some of the places we visited), and often overwhelming (when we were not sure what we really wanted).  But once that ad was placed declaring our house for sale – I was able to breathe.  Did the fear go away?  No.  But now it was accompanied by excitement, anticipation and an almost delicious uncertainty!

What will be your “one step”?