May 2012

Look2The Sea

While it’s true a lot of us look to water for perspective or to help us reflect, I want to share a story I heard recently that you may be able to use as a springboard even if you’re landlocked right now. The Sales Manager of a TV station in Central Virginia was telling me he’d had some time off recently. He accompanied his son’s elementary school class on a trip to the Virginia Beach area. They did the usual field trip sites – aquarium and museums, but they made time to see the ocean too.

Some of those kids had never experienced the beach, the tide, the expanse, or even the “sea girls” flying around above. It was a brand new experience.

Using His Story4Perspective

Can you remember the first time you saw the ocean or the grit of the sand between your toes? Probably not, but over time you’ve come to appreciate the expanse, the power, the calm, the beauty, and all the other things that drive so many of us to a shore of some kind.

Imagine the excitement some of those kids felt at seeing the ocean on that spring day in April.

Now capture that same rush and remind yourself why you took the job you currently have or how much you like solving problems or creating a product or a solution. Whatever it is you do on a daily basis could use a jolt of that same freshness. Everyone finds themselves in challenging times in business. The key is to push through them, anchor to a knowledge of why you are passionate about what you do, and take a new look at an old situation.

It’s kind of like you’re seeing it for the first time…