The blog is on the move to Seasidesteps.com

Change is an exciting thing! Yesterday an old friend of mine contacted me and offered to move the blog from its original location to seasidesteps.com [thank you, Erik Curtis!] and today the transition began. We're up and running at our new site this morning.

Coming next week: consulting; who is that recruiter and tips from the readers

Here is what you can look forward to in our discussions next week. Enjoy the weekend. Happy Easter to those of you celebrating. Take time this weekend to just be, to enjoy your family and your friends, to relish in being here, connected to others.

Topics of discussion next week: the pro's and con's of offering consulting services; knowing who is really behind that recruiter e-mail that you received and suggestions from our readers (I'm so excited about one of the e-mails that I received today!)

I'll leave you with some imagery. Remember the last time that you walked along the beach? You adjusted your path around the ebb and flow of the tide. You adjusted your steps to account for shells, rocks and seaweed. You were walking along the beach but your were adjusting your path as necessary. You are doing that now, in this process, in this moment. You did not leave the beach and head home because the tide came in or because there were shells on the sand. You may have moved your towel and sand chair to keep them from getting wet or pulled out to sea, but you didn't check out because the waves came in.

Update to Thursday post (savings resource for organic food purchases)

Yesterday's blog featured business ideas from Katrina. In her post she mentioned networking with local organic farmer's. Today I came across this blog that includes savings offers for organic products and wanted to post it for Katrina and anyone else who may be interested.
http://moneysavingmom.com/tag/natural-organic-deals

Connect, Cooperate and Indulge a Passion (oh, and you get coffee too!)

I watched an interview with mega success Hollywood producer Tom Shadyac [Bruce Almighty, Liar Liar, Nutty Professor etc...) the other day. If you don't know about Tom's recent personal and professional journey take a few moments and research "I am". In a nutshell Tom traded in the excess (large homes, fancy cars, expensive possessions) for what he needed. Before you tune out and say "I'm not giving up my stuff", relax- you don't have to give up your stuff, but take a moment and see how this might help you to adjust your perspective.

Tom moved out of his gigantic Hollywood mansion and into a modest two bedroom modular home in Malibu.  He refers to the redwood taking only what it needs in the interview and a lion killing one gazelle because one is what it needs. "We have a term for something in the body when it takes more than its share," Tom says in the documentary. "We call it cancer." As I listened to his perspective I thought about how it plays into adjusting our perspective about what our definition of "success" is and if we need to adjust our perspective.

Tom's philosophy revolves around three key points:
1. It is scientifically proven that the entire human race is connected.
2. It is human nature to be cooperative rather than competitive.
3. If you don't do what your heart wants you to do and follow your passion, it will destroy you.


I know that when my business failed, I lumped myself into that same category. It's a difficult leap to get from "my business failed" to "I'm successful" but not because it isn't realistic, but because our perspective is flawed. We derive our success from our profession. I think we sell ourselves short when we do that. I think that if we stopped defining ourselves by what we do and rather by who we are we would see ourselves and others in a very different light.


Today is Earth Day. Today is a great day to acknowledge how much bigger it all is and how it doesn't center around you. When we're down, we have a tendency to wallow (and sometimes it's warranted, I think there is a time for wallowing, but it's short lived) and make our situation much bigger then it should be. On this Earth Day, step outside of yourself and feel the connection to the human race, be cooperative rather than competitive and indulge a passion. Take your tumbler to Starbucks for the free coffee and connect with a human being either on the way or there in the shop. Cooperate with someone- if you're short on ideas consider these: open the door for someone; give up your parking space and let the mini van filled with kids being driven by the tired mom park in the primo space that you tracked down; buy someone a cup of coffee who didn't know that they needed to bring a tumbler to get the free coffee; deliver the free tree that Lowe's is giving out tomorrow to a day care center so the kids can plant it.


Adjust your perspective on success. Success is not driven by what we do or how much money we receive for doing it. Success is driven by who we are. Who are you going to be today? Happy Earth Day! 

Suggestion from Katrina in Indiana- make new friends, but keep the old ones...

I'm so excited! When I sat down at the computer this morning there were three e-mails from readers. Considering that we launched yesterday, I'm so happy to know that we're already connecting. Welcome!

Today's tip comes from Katrina in Indiana. Katrina and her husband realized their dream of opening their own restaurant four years ago. As local businesses closed due to the economy their business suffered too and eventually closed. Katrina and her husband were able to keep the catering portion of the business open but she says they are driving farther than usual for events and the rising costs of gasoline may force that last remaining portion of the business to close. [sidebar: to find the lowest gas prices in your area visit gasbuddy.com]

Katrina offers this advice "I worked to keep in touch with our regular customers and our suppliers as the business was closing and after it had closed. Our suppliers referred us to other restaurants that needed help and through that avenue my husband found a position as a restaurant manager. That isn't his dream job- running our restaurant was, but it pays the bills and keeps him in the industry. We hope to open a new restaurant in the next three years and I'm working on new recipes and making new contacts in the meantime. I'm also meeting local growers to offer organic products (something we always intended to do but never had time to make happen. I have time now)."

Katrina makes some great points in her e-mail. Though devastated by the loss of their restaurant, they remained in touch with customers and suppliers. That networking availed a job to tide the family over until they are able to reopen or open a new restaurant. Katrina is using this time wisely to make new contacts and to learn more about local growers- both of which will help them in the next venture.

I understand that it may be difficult to call up your former clients or peers or vendors. I encourage you to take that step- networking is how most jobs are found and you never know who might need the very skills that you have. I encourage you to find something to learn or study about during this down time. There may be a certification program that will help you in your next venture that you have the time to take now- take it. If you plan to open a new business in the future take this time to make new contacts and explore new services that you can provide that may separate you from competitors.

Katrina and her family are working toward a future goal while achieving successes in this downtime. That is good advice. Thank you, Katrina!

Go plant a tree!

Lowe's has a great promotion for Earth Day (April 23, 2011)- they are giving away free trees! (I have become a fan of "free things" and I'll share them with you as I hear about them- we all need to stick together in these uncharted financial waters!)

This is a great opportunity for you to get your hands in the soil, plant a living thing and nurture it. Watch it grow and as it does be mindful that you are also growing. This experience that you are going through right now is causing you to stretch to new heights, dig in your roots and look to the sun as you grow. Plant your tree and grow along with it!

If this is the first tree that you've planted, congratulations! Your tree will mark your growth in a beautiful environmentally friendly way. Imagine sitting under its shade in a few years and telling someone about your journey. Imagine that tree growing from the sapling that you plant on April 23 to a strong, tall, sturdy tree that maybe holds a swing or a tree house one day! That little tree that you plant is really going to grow to be something spectacular and so are you!

http://networkedblogs.com/gTql1

The next step...

Today I did something that I have not done in a few weeks. I put on professional attire and attended an event where I met and spoke with other professional adults. Before the business closed I attended events like these all of the time. As a matter of fact I attended so many of them that I really stopped listening to whatever the speaker was talking about and was usually trying to tactfully check my Blackberry while appearing to be paying attention. I had lost my passion for meeting and connecting with people. I was working all of the time and the idea of balancing work and a personal life was a joke. I thought that the more I worked, the more successful I would be and the more successful I was the less I would need to work. The truth of the matter is that the more I worked the more the company grew and the more the company grew the more I worked.

At about 10:00 this morning I was sitting at my computer. I was aware of the clock counting down the time until I needed to dressed and in my car heading to the program. I was dealing with more demands related to the loss of the business and I was feeling pretty uneasy about trying to pull myself together and mingle with lucid adults. I came up with a few reasons why I could miss the event but a voice in my head wasn't having any part of it. I got dressed, I put the address in my navigation system and I headed out.

While I was driving I listened to a cd-rom that someone loaned me about boundaries. Not a particularly captivating topic, my mind began to wander. I wondered when the last time was that I wore the slacks, sweater and heels that I had on.  I tried to remember what life was like before the business closed; I'm not sure why, I think I just wanted to reconnect for a few moments with the "me" that enjoyed success prior to the fall. As I did, though, I paused and thought about all that I had accomplished since the closure. I am half way through an MBA program. I have set up a functional consulting firm. I moved my children back to the beach where we are closer to my parents and our extended family. I am writing a book. I am training for a 10k that I am walking in with two lifelong friends next month (I actually had to train for a 6 mile adventure because my physical activity for the past few years was limited to walking from the car to the office). I am present in the lives of my teenage children and we have had dinner together every night for the past four months. I have learned to survive (and thrive) on some very limited financial resources. I began to realize that those very things ARE successes! They are every bit more successful than anything that I accomplished at the business. I adjusted my perspective and I celebrated my accomplishments.

I encourage you to take a moment and identify your recent successes. Listen, I'm not going to trivialize the events that led you here. They are/were horrific. We'll recognize and deal with the loss. We'll work on the healing. I just want you to take a moment and recognize your recent efforts. The successes could be in the form of an organized garage or linen closet; improving the nutrition in your home because you have more time to prepare healthy meals; learning about a subject or reading a book that you would not have had time to do if you were working; maybe just capturing an opportunity to rest. You accomplished those things and I want you to pat yourself on the back. Too often we beat ourselves up over the events that caused the downfall of the business and we tend to lump our personal selves and our professional selves together in that process. Let's make a diligent effort not to do that from here on out. Let's recognize and celebrate our accomplishments as we navigate through these next steps. There are great things on the horizon.