Okay, okay…you’ve long suspected this about me, I know, so it’s only fair that I finally confess:
I tend to fly by the seat of my pants.
There. I said it.
I know a lot of people who hate to plan, who run their lives based on the constellations or the orbit of Mercury, or just by good old-fashioned gut instinct.
And I know people who are the exact opposite. Those who have a detailed plan in place for every meal that they’ll eat, every marketing effort that they will put forth for the entire 12 months to come, every “to do” on their list.
And then there’s me:
Stuck somewhere in the middle between the star-gazers and the planners, with my colour-coded calendar (it has to be pretty after all) and my hot link to the site that tells me where each planet is in every moment, and my entire Being wired to receive “hits” from the Universe with a mind that wants nothing more than to have a concrete plan in place to control the random chaos that can (and often does) ensue in life.
It’s a strange place to be…an even odder place from which to run a business.
You see, people close to me think I am hyper-organized. They know that my calendar is iron-tight and that I have rock-solid financial goals. I even get lovingly teased for these behaviours! I suspect that the term “anal retentive” has been passed among my colleagues from time to time as they listen to me once again go on and on about the virtues of a well-organized calendar!
But it is only those who are REALLY close to me that know the truth: These bits and pieces of planning and organization are there for me simply to provide a safe structure from which I can fly by the seat of my pants 🙂
Some time ago I began to understand that one of my core drivers is freedom.
And for awhile it seemed at odds with my deep need for security.
But then one day it hit me: No, no they weren’t at odds with one another! It is quite simply that, with the security of a few fundamental pieces in place, I am then free!
When my calendar is iron-tight, I am free to use the time outside of those scheduled appointments and writing time to do whatever I please, knowing full well that I have taken care of my responsibilities.
When my financial goals are clear, then I am free to enjoy my money knowing that I have all my financial responsibilities taken care of, too.
This has even shown up in my personal life, this need to balance security with freedom.
I chose to live in a condo with my children such that we had the security of owning a home, but the freedom to travel knowing that the grass would indeed be cut and our community would care for the well-being of our space when we were gone.
And I have consciously sought friends and partners who remind me of the value of “home” and “family” while enabling my gypsy heart to roam free. It’s become my understanding of Who I Am, that, at my core, I am a woman who needs (and wants) to hold a hand such that I can fly.
So often in life and in business we try to squeeze ourselves into some box or another in order to “fit” with the image of what we believe it IS to be successful. We buy the daytimer because someone told us we should, only for it to sit, unused, in a drawer. We invest in programs, books, and an assortment of other business accoutrements in order that we should look or be able to play the part of Successful Business Person while ignoring the fundamentals of Who We Are and how we actually operate in the world.
And I say, enough.
Let us instead agree that we will stop doing things simply because we think we Have To. Or because we Always Have. (Whether it worked or not is another issue altogether!)
Let us agree instead to look deeper at Who We Are and determine what would work best for US.
Do you, like me, share core values that are, at first glance, seemingly incompatible? What have you done to make these two important parts of yourself function together in harmony?
Have you taken a moment or two to identify what really is important to you in how you run your business and your life? While freedom is often a core value for an entrepreneur, it isn’t always. It bears investigating if it drives you…or not.
Are there things that you do in your daily life that seem AS IF they should support your growth in business and in life, but for some reason just don’t seem to be doing the trick? Perhaps it is time to evaluate and see what’s working, what isn’t, and why, such that you can make the changes necessary to bring everything into alignment.
I’ve long been a believer that the reason we are here on this planet is to become more and more of Who We Really Are and to act from that place in every moment. And really, if that isn’t Freedom in and of itself, I don’t know what is.
So let’s heed this call together and make these next days and months to come all about the Freedom To Be Who We Are in every aspect of our lives, and our work. I cannot wait to see what wondrous things come from it!
Fully completely,
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Rebecca Liston helps her clients predict, pivot, and compete in an increasingly complex global marketplace. Her clients quickly uncover the root of their challenges and know the actions to take to overcome them. A six-time nominee for the RBC Canadian Woman Entrepreneur Award, Rebecca combines business strategy with intuition, giving her clients the edge on forward-thinking, elegant answers to their most complicated problems. Her clients are entrepreneurs with CEO-mindsets and executives with entrepreneurial instincts. She is based in London, Ontario. What if you could get the answer to your biggest business challenge, in one sitting? Visit rebeccaliston.com to find out more.
