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I knew that within a few hours my husband Buddy would see the humor in the situation, but he was pretty panicked when it occurred. He came rushing into my office to let me know he backed his car into the garage door because he’d forgotten to open it after putting several cartons into his trunk. The electronic door wouldn’t go up its track to open now that it had been bent out of shape, so Buddy’s car was trapped until help arrived.
I immediately saw the humor, but Buddy wasn’t having any of it; not until the repair guy came and freed up his car. Just before the fix-it man took over I ran out with my camera to snap a shot of the wreckage. We’ll get a replacement door on Friday.
Here’s what I love so much about Buddy. It took about an hour for it to register that I’d taken the picture. Once he’d gotten his humor back he came into my office and said, “When you get that developed, let me know what you’re going to do with it.” (I love that: developed!)
I told him it was digital and I’d already put it into my blog and posted it. We both cracked up. Since I’ve become a journalist/blogger on what happens in the life of an entrepreneur, everything is fair game.
In the co-active coaching model I subscribe to, one of the foundational tenets is that coaching addresses the client’s whole life. The exact same thing is true of entrepreneurship (and every other professional’s life, I believe). We can’t separate ourselves from what happens around us. In the moment of the accident I left my desk to bear witness to the accident and to help Buddy find a repair resource. Once that was underway, I went back to work…giggling.
In the scheme of things, if this is the worst thing in our lives, we’re VERY lucky.
Whenever I have a big idea that I want to capture, I use a mind-map to dump out everything I’m thinking. It’s a simple and elegant tool I learned way back when I first discovered goal-setting. For me, it’s a non-linear way to brainstorm, and it works.
As you can see from this actual example, it’s an unencumbered format that allows me to see what’s in my brain, write it down with specific activities associated and then transfer each of those activities to a calendar date and time.
When my goal, back in 1999 was to write a book that would become a platform for my speaking career–Soul Proprietor–my mindmap included topics I would write about, how I would approach agents, publishers and promotion. But the very first activity I undertook, which was also on the mindmap, was to purchase and read Elizabeth Lyon’s book so I’d understand how to write a book proposal.
The mindmap shown here is for a party I’m putting together. I’m inviting all of my clients, one-on-one as well as Mastermind Group participants, to an after-the-holidays gathering as my gift to them in January. It’s a reunion for my past groups as well as an opportunity for everyone to meet remarkably successful women. I’m planning to hold it in the brand new studio of a client who had the vision to exhibit her photography in her own studio. What better proof of how the process works than this! More to follow…
