Walk Your Talk in 2019

Live your truth. Express your love. Share your enthusiasm.
Take action towards your dreams.
Walk your talk.
Dance and sing to your music. Embrace your blessings.
Make today worth remembering.
Dr. Steve Maraboli

Sitting here I've got my usual challenge of what to share this morning. I was thinking about what a strange first week of the new year this has been. We only had a three day week regarding business, and I finally gave up trying to catch up to anybody I wanted to talk to.

My Fast Food Friday post hit on the challenges this week, and I suggested everyone use the time to "kick back and chill." In a comment in one of the forums a photographer wrote: There is no downtime. Always working on improving process and planning marketing for the coming season for seniors and Sports. It’s the curse of entrepreneurs.

I understand what he meant, and the fact that your business needs to always be on your mind, but I still disagree. Breaking away from that "curse" is the reason I write Sunday Morning Reflections every week. It's that "curse" that's driven so many of us into a crash and burn scenario. While to some it might sound counter-productive, you've got to step away from the business and recharge your battery to develop your creativity to the max.

Here's a perfect example: This week I took my own advice and truly stepped away from most aspects of the business. I took the time to do a lot of soul-searching. I'm still surprised at my age; I don't know what I want to be when I grow up! But that doesn't mean I don't have a long list of dreams, aspirations and even a bucket list of things I want to do and places I want to go, both personally and as a couple with Sheila.

But here's my problem, and I'm anticipating I'm not alone. There's so much I want to do that it becomes overwhelming, and I have a hard time focusing. This is truly ironic since I teach workshops where I've started presentations by saying, "You know how to focus your camera, but how about your career?"

The time I took this week was instrumental in helping me map out the new year. "Map" is the key word here - none of us would leave on a cross-country trip without a roadmap, yet we do it all the time in our business. We tackle each challenge as they come up rarely taking the time to focus on what we truly want to do next.

The best part of the process was sitting down with Sheila yesterday and taking the time to talk about the new year. From trips we want to do to some personal projects, we covered so many different aspects of my business, our life and how we want 2019 to look at the end of the year.

And here's my point this morning - As you get older, you realize from your own experiences and those of friends, that you never know what tomorrow is going to bring. While we all recognize the importance of living for today, we still hold back and too often procrastinate on those things most important. We waste time. We waste energy on things that don't matter. We forget to look out for ourselves and get caught up chasing minutia.

For me, the new year really starts tomorrow. I'm excited about so many different things on the drawing board for 2019, but I'm not going to waste one minute of today thinking about it. My suggestion to all of you is the same - use this last Sunday of New Years week to enjoy the downtime. Cherish having the time to be with family, friends or merely alone to dream. Rest up, recharge your battery, do something you love doing with those people most special in your life.

As always, go for those eleven-second therapeutic hugs with the people you love and forget about tomorrow for one more day. Then, tomorrow morning, jump in with the energy and the planning you need to follow the path that seems to fit the best. And remember, the best thing about being a small business owner is that you always can change paths as long as you stay focused on what's in your heart!

Happy Sunday!