Every relationship has a life cycle. When you are really lucky, that life cycle lasts forever.
However, some life cycle end before we are ready to let them go.
A business life cycle is like any other relationship in terms of supporting and enhancing those involved. When you pour your heart and soul into a business, like a personal relationship, it can be devastating when it ends. You spend years of time, money, and resources to create an entity that contributes to the well being of the lives of those around you and those you serve. It is hard to watch your life’s dream overtaken by external circumstances and a changing market. Imagine having all of your investments in 8 track tapes. Markets change.
Truth is, it is wise to know when it is time to close the doors and move on to new opportunities.
However, ending any business means shifting long-term relationships with customers, clients, suppliers, the network of buyers, as well as your trusted friends and partners. Change can be difficult and frightening for many people. But not evolving means certain stagnation. (And who wants that?)
Ending the business or losing a job means “not knowing” in your life. “Not knowing is a state of grace” according to Thich Nhat Hanh. A glass that is already full has no space for anything new.
When you end a personal relationship, people understand that you are lonely, in need of support, and in need of new opportunities to meet other people. Starting a new business or looking for a new job is much the same.
Here are our three suggestions for how to bungee jump to your next great opportunity:
1. Get clear about who you are, what gifts you bring to the table, and the causes that fuel your passion. This is a great time to focus on doing what you really want to do.
2. Engender support. Reach out to your network of friends, colleagues, and associates, and ask them how you can be of help to them and their passions.
3. Be open to exploring new ideas and business options. Think outside of traditional roles and functions. Stretch your competencies by learning a new skill or business application, or by joining groups that stimulate your creative thinking beyond the typical standard for your industry.
Just a note, remember, five years ago, there were no blogs.
By Carolyn Strauss with Mary Kelly, PhD (www.ProductiveLeaders.com)
Saturday, January 29, 2011
Monday, January 24, 2011
Living Well for as Long as Possible, now THAT's a Resolution
Healthy, healthy, healthy, healthy dead. Living long is not the game; to live well...That is the game I hope we're all playing in 2011 and beyond.
Before there was Bob and Jillian, before Gilad, before Jane Fonda and Richard Simmons, there was Jack LaLanne. The man who beginning in the early 1950's hosted the first exercise "reality" work out show when televisions were in black and white and you physically had to get out of the chair to go change the channel, adjust the volume, or adjust the rabbit ears in order to pick up the signal. For more than 35 years with his TV show and with his books and juicer, Jack LaLanne was an inspiration and a role model from the time he was a young man until his passing this past weekend. To me, Jack LaLanne represented living well, living a clean, balanced, healthy life.
During his television program for more than three decades he gave people exercises to move their body, demonstrated each of them, and through the television he gave them the support of someone to do them with. Jack also used each of his shows to promote the ideas of nutritional eating, being happy, being balanced, being supported and most importantly, being loved.
I think in this time of January when many people set resolutions and many have already let them go, I think looking at an example like Jack LaLanne, of someone who did not set new years resolutions but every day chose to live a healthy, balanced, clean life. It was a resolution that I believe he woke up with every morning and lived with until the day he passed. Jack said, "The only way to hurt your body is by not using it." As for me, I will smile every time I see someone either in an orange jumpsuit or getting themselves to the gym. Wishing you all a healthy 2011.
Before there was Bob and Jillian, before Gilad, before Jane Fonda and Richard Simmons, there was Jack LaLanne. The man who beginning in the early 1950's hosted the first exercise "reality" work out show when televisions were in black and white and you physically had to get out of the chair to go change the channel, adjust the volume, or adjust the rabbit ears in order to pick up the signal. For more than 35 years with his TV show and with his books and juicer, Jack LaLanne was an inspiration and a role model from the time he was a young man until his passing this past weekend. To me, Jack LaLanne represented living well, living a clean, balanced, healthy life.
During his television program for more than three decades he gave people exercises to move their body, demonstrated each of them, and through the television he gave them the support of someone to do them with. Jack also used each of his shows to promote the ideas of nutritional eating, being happy, being balanced, being supported and most importantly, being loved.
I think in this time of January when many people set resolutions and many have already let them go, I think looking at an example like Jack LaLanne, of someone who did not set new years resolutions but every day chose to live a healthy, balanced, clean life. It was a resolution that I believe he woke up with every morning and lived with until the day he passed. Jack said, "The only way to hurt your body is by not using it." As for me, I will smile every time I see someone either in an orange jumpsuit or getting themselves to the gym. Wishing you all a healthy 2011.
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