Oops! forgot to post this week's article to the blog. I'm in
Taos at Jen Louden's annual writers' retreat, and it's heaven!
Thriving is part art, part science, and part grace. A
thriving business must not only accommodate but support life
in all its complexity. A thriving business requires and
provides resilience and continuity. How do you go about
building a thriving career or business? Here are some of the
things I've learned and that I credit with supporting my own
thriving business.
Recognize that life happens.
There will be ups and downs in your personal life and ups
and downs in business. When you can accept these ebbs and
flows of attention, energy, and focus, you will better be
able to adjust to changing conditions both in your heart and
in your environment.
Cultivate systems, practices, and networks that provide
continuity.
For example, this newsletter and my Web site are ongoing and
reliable means of staying in touch with a meaningful network
in good times and in bad.
Pay attention to transitions.
When change is happening, it can be easy to get caught up in
reactionary thoughts and feelings that can muddy your
thinking and make complex situations chaotic. Learning to
detach and observe your reactions, thoughts, and fears will
help you keep a steadier course without being rigid.
Be mindful.
Learn to notice when things are expanding and when they are
contracting, and choose your strategies accordingly.
Look ahead.
Learn to regard mistakes as stepping stones to mastery.
Avoid wasting time in needless guilt and defensiveness.
Seize the opportunity to correct your error and move on.
Listen to your clients and customers.
Identify those who get the most benefit from working with
you with the least effort on your part. This is not
laziness. This is learning to operate from the sweet spot –
that place in which you add the most value by working from
your strengths.
Stay healthy emotionally and physically.
Rigorously address personal issues that inhibit success.
This could mean seeing a therapist, paying off old debts, or
starting an exercise program.
Remain aware.
Learn to listen. Listen for guidance from Spirit, from your
heart, from your environment, from colleagues, from clients.
Keep evaluating yourself.
Raise your standards regularly both for your own performance
and for the caliber of client or customer that you attract.
Periodically update and refocus your business plan.
Include income, expense, and investment plans. Keep it
simple. Distill your plans into a sentence or two that
summarizes your goals and strategies so that you always know
where you are going.
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