CARPE DIEM
Her life was SPINNING out of control. Bill collectors were circling like vultures waiting for the last breath before they swooped down and took what remains of the carcass. The fight had waned, the hope was all but gone. What was left was nothing more than a wore out beat down image of what was once a high flying hard charging filled with life lady of adventure. What went wrong?
Stephanie was a wonderful person that seemed to have life going great in every direction. When the ripples begin to appear she brushed it off as just a normal adjustment, a mere pothole in the road. Little by little the ripples turned to waves and the tide crept closer and closer. Admittedly she knew something was awry but still her thoughts remained, this too shall pass. The bills slowly got behind and the worry ensued. Now the little glass house Stephanie was living in showed signs of weakness. Still no cracks though, this could easily be resolved with a couple strong months at the store.
During this time as things drifted toward the wrong side of the tracks Stephanie found herself pulling back from her social support network. Over a period of months her reclusive behavior had left her without many close friends to lean on in times of need. Her two daughters, now teenagers, were finding attention elsewhere, which was creating problems that compounded the financial crisis that had beset the family. Now in full blown panic mode Stephanie went into prevent defense. It was time to reduce all waste, lay off any unneeded help, and cut back everywhere possible. Her survival mode was in high gear, BUT they problem was her training was all wrong. She was depending on skills that facilitate loosing instead of promoting winning. She followed the normal path taught for generations, when times are tough, cut back, save, save, save. The truth, however, is you can NEVER safe your way to a profit, in business or life.
Yes life was SPINNING out of control at warp speed. When the landlord had finally had enough all Stephanie could do was sit in a corner and cry. I failed, she moaned to herself, I am an embarrassment to myself and my family. How could I let this happen. Life as she once knew it was in fact over.
The landlord gave Stephanie 15 days to vacate the premises. Her first inclination was to just lock the door and walk away, but for some reason she just sit there. When he walked in Stephanie's first thoughts were, man I'm out of business, what is your problem. Yet she propped herself up garnered a smile and ask the gentleman what she could do to help him. His reply caught her somewhat off guard. He said "ma'am with all due respect I came to help you". A little put off Step replied "exactly what can you do to help me". Obviously all was lost so she couldn't lose any further by listening to what he had to say. He continued "when life is spinning out of control the worse thing you can do is hit the brakes, the only way to regain forward momentum is to accelerate. You see in life we are taught to contract our thinking when things go bad, the solution is much different. To get life back on track we must expand not contract". she admitted his words were resonating, but the fact remained the same, she was broke.
The gentleman handed her a book and said please read this and I'll be back tomorrow to discuss this further. She was pissed off beyond words, how dare this silly bastard who doesn't know anything about me tell me to read a book. Beings she had no customers and obviously no life she sit down and started looking over the book. What the heck, might as well try a chapter and see what this is all about. An hour later, the book was finished, tears rolling down her cheeks, she began to realize that this might not be the end but it possibly could be the beginning.
He arrived early, her doors were open, and she had a smile on her face. He greeted her warmly and ask what she thought about the book. She thanked him and said it was a refreshing read that she needed. He said "if I may indulge you one more time to please read this book and I'll stop by again in the morning". Anxious to read what he brought she dove right in. Once again she had the book finished in less than two hours. Like before, her emotions were all over the board. Beings she had no customer's in the store at the time she decided to face her most embarrassing problem and call her bank and vendors and see if they would be willing to extend terms on her heavy debt. To her surprise beings she got on offense and faced her problems head on they all offered her workable solutions. She was amazed, but she still had to be out in 13 days so how was she going to pay for this opportunity she had been given with the loans restructured. She still had the same problem.
The next morning he should up earlier to find her already there. He asked about the book, which she replied was even better than the first. Even though he was still a stranger she felt comfortable sharing what she had done as a result of reading the books. He was pleased that she had chosen to accelerate out of her spin instead of slamming on the brakes and hitting the concrete wall. He asked her if she would please read just one last book. She said "sir with all due respect, I love the books, but I only have 12 more days to vacate this business and I have lots of packing and cleaning to do. maybe I'll read it some other time" He said he understood however if she changed her mind he decided to leave the book anyway.
You know she read the book, right? Of course she did. He (Richard) returned the next day to find the doors open, place clean and arranged and two customers waiting to place orders. When Richard finally was able to garner some attention she hugged him, tears of joy streaming down her face. She said to him "last night I reached down and pulled out all the strength I had I called my landlord shared my new business plan with confidence and gave him my word that if he could extend me a 30 day waver on my rent I would work day and night to pay him back. He was so happy I made the call and even said he was proud I found the courage to face my problems and fight this head on". Richard had a smile on his face as he knew that this lost soul had just found a light in an otherwise dark world.
Day by day Stephanie's business improved. She made fresh sales calls that she hadn't done in years, she expanded her product offering so that she had more options for her existing customers. She also took Richard's advice and started rebuilding her social network. She joined the local chamber as well as volunteered in two non profits that she was passionate about.
Fast forward 8 months, the local newspaper decided to write an article about how Stephanie resurrected her business. As she recited the story, naturally they wanted an interview with Richard. To Stephanie's surprise she had no contact information and no last name. All she knew was Richard, the man with the books. The story was fascinating to say the least. People started coming in her store just to ask about the man and the books. Stephanie begin mentoring people in life with the simple philosophy "when life is spinning out of control ACCELERATE DO NOT BRAKE".
This little blog is actually a true story. I wish I had time to share the raw emotions that Stephanie faced as her life dwindled away. She had totally lost her identity and will to live. Once she learned how to face everything head on she, for once in her life she BLOOMED where she was planted. There is never a problem to big to face, you just have to decide to face it. I will leave you with two things I hope you will remember for the rest of your life. ONE DAY OR DAY ONE, it is a choice you know.
The other is CARPE DIEM "seize the day".
PS, this blog isn't about business, it's about life, YOUR LIFE
God Bless
Dale
ragpicker
Stephanie was a wonderful person that seemed to have life going great in every direction. When the ripples begin to appear she brushed it off as just a normal adjustment, a mere pothole in the road. Little by little the ripples turned to waves and the tide crept closer and closer. Admittedly she knew something was awry but still her thoughts remained, this too shall pass. The bills slowly got behind and the worry ensued. Now the little glass house Stephanie was living in showed signs of weakness. Still no cracks though, this could easily be resolved with a couple strong months at the store.
During this time as things drifted toward the wrong side of the tracks Stephanie found herself pulling back from her social support network. Over a period of months her reclusive behavior had left her without many close friends to lean on in times of need. Her two daughters, now teenagers, were finding attention elsewhere, which was creating problems that compounded the financial crisis that had beset the family. Now in full blown panic mode Stephanie went into prevent defense. It was time to reduce all waste, lay off any unneeded help, and cut back everywhere possible. Her survival mode was in high gear, BUT they problem was her training was all wrong. She was depending on skills that facilitate loosing instead of promoting winning. She followed the normal path taught for generations, when times are tough, cut back, save, save, save. The truth, however, is you can NEVER safe your way to a profit, in business or life.
Yes life was SPINNING out of control at warp speed. When the landlord had finally had enough all Stephanie could do was sit in a corner and cry. I failed, she moaned to herself, I am an embarrassment to myself and my family. How could I let this happen. Life as she once knew it was in fact over.
The landlord gave Stephanie 15 days to vacate the premises. Her first inclination was to just lock the door and walk away, but for some reason she just sit there. When he walked in Stephanie's first thoughts were, man I'm out of business, what is your problem. Yet she propped herself up garnered a smile and ask the gentleman what she could do to help him. His reply caught her somewhat off guard. He said "ma'am with all due respect I came to help you". A little put off Step replied "exactly what can you do to help me". Obviously all was lost so she couldn't lose any further by listening to what he had to say. He continued "when life is spinning out of control the worse thing you can do is hit the brakes, the only way to regain forward momentum is to accelerate. You see in life we are taught to contract our thinking when things go bad, the solution is much different. To get life back on track we must expand not contract". she admitted his words were resonating, but the fact remained the same, she was broke.
The gentleman handed her a book and said please read this and I'll be back tomorrow to discuss this further. She was pissed off beyond words, how dare this silly bastard who doesn't know anything about me tell me to read a book. Beings she had no customers and obviously no life she sit down and started looking over the book. What the heck, might as well try a chapter and see what this is all about. An hour later, the book was finished, tears rolling down her cheeks, she began to realize that this might not be the end but it possibly could be the beginning.
He arrived early, her doors were open, and she had a smile on her face. He greeted her warmly and ask what she thought about the book. She thanked him and said it was a refreshing read that she needed. He said "if I may indulge you one more time to please read this book and I'll stop by again in the morning". Anxious to read what he brought she dove right in. Once again she had the book finished in less than two hours. Like before, her emotions were all over the board. Beings she had no customer's in the store at the time she decided to face her most embarrassing problem and call her bank and vendors and see if they would be willing to extend terms on her heavy debt. To her surprise beings she got on offense and faced her problems head on they all offered her workable solutions. She was amazed, but she still had to be out in 13 days so how was she going to pay for this opportunity she had been given with the loans restructured. She still had the same problem.
The next morning he should up earlier to find her already there. He asked about the book, which she replied was even better than the first. Even though he was still a stranger she felt comfortable sharing what she had done as a result of reading the books. He was pleased that she had chosen to accelerate out of her spin instead of slamming on the brakes and hitting the concrete wall. He asked her if she would please read just one last book. She said "sir with all due respect, I love the books, but I only have 12 more days to vacate this business and I have lots of packing and cleaning to do. maybe I'll read it some other time" He said he understood however if she changed her mind he decided to leave the book anyway.
You know she read the book, right? Of course she did. He (Richard) returned the next day to find the doors open, place clean and arranged and two customers waiting to place orders. When Richard finally was able to garner some attention she hugged him, tears of joy streaming down her face. She said to him "last night I reached down and pulled out all the strength I had I called my landlord shared my new business plan with confidence and gave him my word that if he could extend me a 30 day waver on my rent I would work day and night to pay him back. He was so happy I made the call and even said he was proud I found the courage to face my problems and fight this head on". Richard had a smile on his face as he knew that this lost soul had just found a light in an otherwise dark world.
Day by day Stephanie's business improved. She made fresh sales calls that she hadn't done in years, she expanded her product offering so that she had more options for her existing customers. She also took Richard's advice and started rebuilding her social network. She joined the local chamber as well as volunteered in two non profits that she was passionate about.
Fast forward 8 months, the local newspaper decided to write an article about how Stephanie resurrected her business. As she recited the story, naturally they wanted an interview with Richard. To Stephanie's surprise she had no contact information and no last name. All she knew was Richard, the man with the books. The story was fascinating to say the least. People started coming in her store just to ask about the man and the books. Stephanie begin mentoring people in life with the simple philosophy "when life is spinning out of control ACCELERATE DO NOT BRAKE".
This little blog is actually a true story. I wish I had time to share the raw emotions that Stephanie faced as her life dwindled away. She had totally lost her identity and will to live. Once she learned how to face everything head on she, for once in her life she BLOOMED where she was planted. There is never a problem to big to face, you just have to decide to face it. I will leave you with two things I hope you will remember for the rest of your life. ONE DAY OR DAY ONE, it is a choice you know.
The other is CARPE DIEM "seize the day".
PS, this blog isn't about business, it's about life, YOUR LIFE
God Bless
Dale
ragpicker
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