Half-Full, Half-Empty and Being Thankful
"You don't know what you've got 'til it's gone."
You might be too young to remember Joni Mitchell's 70's tune on it's first time around, but the message is as good today as it was over 30 years ago. It's also as good in a business context as it is personal.
They say it's human nature to want what you can't have. It's good to want to improve and grow. Wanting "what you don't have" from that perspective is good. Improving knowledge, skills, clients, revenue; looking forward with a vision to excel is good. Looking backwards and regretting, pining, wanting "what you don't have" from hindsight is not good.
There are "the glass is half-full" people (forward looking) and there are "the glass is half-empty" people (backwards looking). The great thing about being human is we have the choice - while not easy and for some of us it may be down right difficult; however we have the choice and the ability to change out outlook.
What does this have to do with business? Everything.
The more successful people I work with the more I see how critical perspective and attitude is to success. Successful people, almost without exception, acknowledge the part of the glass that is empty however they focus on the half that's full. In other words, they recognize the problem exists; take the time to learn why the situation exists, decide the steps needed to make improvements, take action, let go and move on. The past is a teacher, they learn from it. They spend the bulk of their day focusing on the future, their vision.
If you have normally been a "glass half empty" kind of person, take this week to look at all that is right with your business, your life.
- So what if you had 50 clients last year and only have 25 this year. Thank those 25 clients for their business. Pick up the phone and call each one of them to thank them in person.
- Invite a business associate to lunch to thank them for the referrals they have given you in the past, even if they didn't turn into business.
- Go to your office supply cabinet and look at all that 'stuff'. Pack up any excess 'stuff' and deliver it to a non-profit organization that can use it.
- And for those of you with a staff, what about your employees? When is the last time you shared top-level business goals for your business? Sit down with them and tell them about your plans for the future, your vision for the business 5, 10, 15 years down the road. Let them know their role in reaching that vision and then thank them for being on the team.
Make a list of the half-full part of your glass. Focus on that this week. You'll be so busy you won't have time to notice the half-empty part. ...and that's the point. Even if you think this sounds silly, try it for the week and let me hear from you.
Speaking of being thankful, I thank you for following my entries on MaineToday.com. I appreciate the loyalty and the feedback. I'm a better at what I do because of it. Happy Thanksgiving.
Be BOLD and Be Thankful. Your success starts with a vision.
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Whew, Radio Listener; calm down. Your suggestion to be thorough is a good one and yes, I do know the song has been recorded a few times. Perhaps you missed "the first time around" in the opening sentence.
For anyone else who might be confused or think I live under a rock, the verse from Joni Mitchell's song was meant to support to the topic of this article rather than serve as the topic itself.
Thank you for the clarification Radios Listener. Other confused radio listeners are thankful, I'm sure.
For those of you really interested, Big Yellow Taxi" was originally written and performed by Joni Mitchell but as Radio Listener so eloquently noted, was also performed by many other artists; Amy Grant, Counting Crows, and Janet Jackson. In addition Billie Joe Armstrong, Kaya, Pinhead Gunpowder, Paul Tillotson, Máire Brennan, and Keb Mo also covered the song as well as Bob Dylan, who slightly rewrote the lyrics on the album Dylan, released in 1973. Google, yes. Answers.com is another good resource.
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November 21, 2006 06:57 PM
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