A week ago Wednesday our internet connection went down during severe thunderstorms. It wasn’t back up until Monday afternoon this week. That meant I spent nearly a week without access to e-mail or online forums or search engines. Since most of my interaction as a coach and consultant is through the internet, I felt disconnected, almost invisible. But the forced break got me to think a lot about the value of planning and taking real breaks from my routine.
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There seems to be a divide in the United States, more or less down the middle, that flies under the radar. It’s not out in the open like the much-touted red-blue divide of this decade. It’s not about marriage or choice or any other hotly debated values-based topic. It’s not even something simple and fun, like Ford vs. Chevy or Pepsi vs. Coke. It’s insidious, and it defines some people very deeply.
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Our older son’s graduation Friday night took about twelve hours – give or take ten. For those of you attending graduations with hundreds crossing the stage, two hours may not seem like a long time. But his class had only sixty-six. Fortunately, I caught myself finding ways to stay interested and learned something about all of us.
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Some of the teachers seemed a little uncomfortable as they stood before the crowd at the high school awards ceremony to announce the top student in each of their classes. Others were eager to have the stage for a while. Some were brief and business-like, giving just the facts, while others gave us a glimpse of their experiences teaching each group and what special spark they noticed in one or two particular students. But none celebrated his or her students as enthusiastically as Ms Art.
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My experiment rearranging my schedule to manage the B.S. (Backlogged Stuff) sputtered out like a dud bottle rocket that doesn’t go as high as the trees. I chose a week where the second half was overloaded with things that only come up monthly and usually on different weeks. But my idea sounded like so much fun I’m trying it again.
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It was an unexpectedly busy weekend. Unexpectedly busy is not a good thing on Mother’s Day weekend. Our younger son had two rescheduled rainout soccer games, and our older son was invited on Tuesday to guest play in a soccer tournament that started Saturday. Fortunately, their mother and grandmother are used to soccer rearranging our schedules so we will have a fuller celebration soon. But the suddenly jammed weekend got me thinking about how much B.S. I still have to deal with in my life.
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I took a break from my journey on the Twisting Road this past Wednesday to get a bagel and cream cheese at Einstein Brothers’ Bagels. Turns out it’s near a busy entrance ramp to the controlled access lanes of the Rat Race Tollroad. Apparently it’s also near a point where the Fast Track passes overhead and people on the Rat Race try to figure out how they can get on that other highway.
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Recently I’ve written about how to have a sustainable business and what sustainability means to solo entrepreneurs. In addition to criticizing large corporations’ business plans that require continuing expansion and growth just to cover loan payments and reach the break-even point, I brought up the idea that small business owners need to design and develop businesses that complement their lives to have long-term success.
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A friend asked me a very serious question about my work the other day. It wasn’t just about my work; it was about the beliefs I hold that energize my work. That sent me on a couple of new quests.
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The question Who wants what you have? is an important part of the process of helping people come up with ways to make a living doing something they love. It might be an income “bridge” for a while, a way to earn money that frees you from depending on a job. This could include renting out a space or doing contract work. But it becomes magical when applied to what you are naturally good at doing, those things you love to do. My friend Kay is a good example of this magic as she helps other people start up their businesses and realizes she is creating her own consulting business at the same time.
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