Sara Hand

Life is a journey…What have you learned along the way?

Some of my personal observations.

• My life changes when I do, and if I don’t change…Life doesn’t change.
• If I want better answers, I need to ask better questions…Learning to ask great questions is a skill worth working on!         
• If I don’t apply structure to my time, someone or something else will! Especially if you are a person who gets things done…you will never run out of meetings to go to.

• I need to Focus on the big picture, then fine tune the details. And check back with the big picture…understanding strategy and tactics will keep me moving forward without getting bogged down.
• The only investment I can control is my own personal interest rate. How valuable am I? What kind of problems do I solve? What am I doing daily to become more valuable to myself and others?    
• I will never be successful at owning what is not my responsibility to own.  The line between help and support and reinforcing negative tendencies is very narrow.
• I can not control or change anyone.  I can only choose how I respond to situations and circumstances. What someone does with my response is their choice.   
• Just because I can…doesn’t mean I should. Learning to say no may be more important than YES.
• If not me, then who?  I am a part of a community that grows and thrives based on the contributions or lack of contributions from its members.
• Everyone has something to contribute. Intelligence is not determined by your IQ and neither is personal value. It is worth the investment of time to discover those contributions and draw them out so that they can flourish.
• I have an inherent responsibility to become my best; to faithfully steward the potential I have been given and encourage others in the same.

As I consider the list of things I have learned on this journey called my life…the list continues to grow. I am also reminded of those who have shared a part of this journey to date and am thankful for their contributions to whom I am and who I am becoming. What have you learned? Have you thought about it lately?

It’s hot. It’s rainy. The kids are getting restless as the time to go back to school approaches and so are the parents. Business owners have been playing phone tag around summer vacations, and long weekends. In Florida, on August 23rd that will all change and everything will begin to get back to normal. At least that is what many people will tell themselves. Once we get back from vacation, once the kids get back in school, once Labor Day weekend is over…

Not everyone can ride a wave...

If your business only runs well during normal, you are looking at a brief 7-8 weeks before Halloween gets here and then Thanksgiving. After Thanksgiving everyone will be waiting to make decisions at the start of the New Year. In the beginning of the year it will take a couple weeks for everyone to get back in the swing of things after a long break. Then again, there will be a brief 7-8 weeks before Spring Break and Easter Holidays disrupt normal business.  Somewhere after Spring Break we have another 7 weeks or so before graduations, weddings and summer vacations kick in again.

21 weeks of normal sounds ridiculous! Yet we didn’t count tradeshows, CEU’s, national holidays or all the other things that business works around. We didn’t even consider the fact that many businesses don’t even get ready for those 21 weeks during their “off times”, but wait until everything is back to normal to get ready to do business as normal.

“So what do I do about this,” you wonder?

“I have enough challenges from recent economic turbulence to only have 105-120 normal working days.”

 Moving past normal takes an understanding of seasons. A season in business is much like surfing. If you wait until the wave is here to get ready to ride…You are too late! In between waves, when things are little slower is when you paddle out to be ready. Days when there are NO waves are days for servicing your board, or possibly cross-training to master other skills that might be beneficial to your success.

Consider moving past normal and getting ready to catch the wave!

Although it is still HOT, and it is still Rainy and not everyone is in their office everyday; consider being strangely different. Consider moving past normal and getting ready to catch the wave!

Check out growing your Business!

My daughter and I resolved to develop in better health. To do this we decided that getting more exercise would be good and that we would ride bikes together several times a week. We didn’t wait until January to get started. Before Christmas we began to ride 5 miles 2-3 times a week.

It felt good getting off to a great start, and then January came. Would we let a little cold Florida weather discourage us? Absolutely not! WE bundled up with many lighter layers and included hats, scarves and gloves. Each time challenges were presented to discourage us, we simply developed plans that to keep us moving forward.

However February was different. Not only was it cold, but upper respiratory challenges made riding impossible.

March brought us “wet” and two trips to Reale Bikes in Venice for tires and tubes. (Great Service!)

AND isn’t that the way it seems so often. You start out with a great initiative. You have well outlined goals, a plan to implement and you get off to a terrific start. Then things begin to happen, circumstances beyond your control. Yet you continue on, but so does the opposition. Sometimes you can feel like you are so far off track…

However, April arrived. It’s a new month and each day is new. The weather is warm, the bikes have been serviced, and we are both feeling better. Monday was a 10 mile ride for us.

My daughter said several times…”Don’t you feel empowered Mom?”

The answer is YES! We chose to not let time that we weren’t moving forward to keep us from continuing although it would have been very easy to have been discouraged and to have given up.

If you have gotten off track, if your recent actions have not fully corresponded to your initial intentions for this year…I want to encourage you that although staying on target is good; that getting back on your bike is incredibly rewarding.

So if it’s not the necessarily the best products or the best ideas that make it in the marketplace, and a good plan and plenty of funding don’t guarantee that success is inevitable; what does “it” take to succeed? The million dollar question, the magic pill, the miracle cure is…I’m sorry there isn’t one. AND anyone who tells you there is is lying!

Although the answer is simple, it certainly isn’t easy or everyone would do it. Here are some characteristics that individuals share that go on to accomplish the uncommon. Don’t take my word for it. Pick up a biography of someone you admire and see if they are there.

• Faith…to believe that there is something “more”.

• Hope…a picture of that “more” in your future.

• Courage…is the strength to take action.

• Discipline…the ability to take action on a consistent basis.

• Perseverance…the ability to continue to pursue action daily and believe in the possibility of your “more” regardless of how you feel at any given moment or what outward circumstances might indicate.

 The success or lack of success that exists in my life is determined by me. What exists or doesn’t in your life is determined by you. If you don’t like it, change it! And to change it, starts with changing ourselves. Look at the characteristics above. Are those operating in your life? If not, why not?

The secret to success is to start with a personal inventory.

Does discouragement ever keep you from doing the things you need to do to be more productive?

3 Things you can do to change that.

1. Stop and breathe…Some people just run faster and try harder. Others shut down altogether. Neither response will effectively produce results over the course of time.

Take 3 deep breathes and release slowly each time. Your nervous system will kick in and you will begin to relax. When you relax you can make better choices.

Exercise: It releases endorphins which will help you feel better. Ride a bike, walk, dance…do something you love.

(Alcohol and other substances to “feel good” don’t count.)

Hold hands with someone you love. Look them in the face and TELL them that. Build Joy…Yes, Joy is a real thing.

2. Set realistic goals. The world is tough enough. Stop trying to be Super person. Unrealistic expectations reaffirm an inability to succeed. Affirmations are great, if you really believe that in your heart…if you don’t, it is NO better that the unrealistic goal. Let yourself grow into big goals, one baby step at a time.

3. Set up accountability with someone who actually cares whether you succeed or not. Ask someone to give you honest caring feedback. I have a coach, a counselor, and an advisory board and a couple of incredible friends that I have empowered to let me have it…they help me stay on track through constructive criticism and act as cheerleaders when the going gets tough. They believe in me, even when I may begin to doubt myself.

**I believe**

Is it the worst marriages that end in divorce? Do the best ideas and  products succeed in the marketplace? Is there a thing called “happily ever after”? Most women will tell you giving birth is not fun, in fact that whole last month is pretty uncomfortable. But that new life, full of possibilities on the other side is, for most people worth it.

Many of our parents and grandparents grew up knowing the value of a good days work. They believed in saving for a rainy day, because they knew those days would come. They were influenced by a “Great Depression” and a World War. They knew good things were worth waiting for and they would live and die for what they believed. In a world of cell phones, microwaves and “super size me” it sometimes appears that the characteristics of that day are all but gone.

 But life is hard and stuff happens. No amount of societal advancement will take that away, although there are an infinite number of new methods and medications for coping with it. This is where the challenge lies. Do I avoid or ignore these obstacles or do I adopt behaviors that simply cope or cohabitate with difficulty. Or could undesirable circumstances press through to a new reality? 

In nature we see the cocooned caterpillar struggle to break free and emerge from its cocoon. It no longer resembles the creature it once was as it strains against the crystalis. Yet if helped to escape, this new creation will never have the strength in its new wings to soar as the butterfly it was meant to be.

It is through adversity that we are sharpened, compressed and refined into an image of beauty. We can deal with these opportunities and press on, or we can choose to exit this process at any point. It won’t mean that life will necessarily be easier or harder. It only means that we won’t go any further, like a child who doesn’t want to play.How can hardship work to our benefit? It works through commitment. With commitment to the process of change, the relationship, and the opportunity itself; we are transformed. When we are committed there is security. We don’t have to focus on pleasing for the moment, because the long term success is more important than the short term discomfort. With security, we can face hard things, we can take risks.

 Feeling stuck? Wondering how your hardships could actually work together for anything good? Can you put a name to those things that might hold you back?

Choose commitment and push through the process. There is something much better waiting outside the cocoon if you dare!

If you could only do one thing it would be so easy. It would be so easy to know what to do, which direction to go. But there are so many choices and so many of the choices are good…or so it seems initially. And actually there is very little inherently bad in the choices. However I have learned that, just because I can…doesn’t mean I should.

In fact just recently I was presented with an awesome looking project: something that could prove to be very fruitful, something that I could enjoy, something I have wanted to do for a while, only to discover that just because I could do this now did not mean that it WAS the right thing to do now.

The economy is not exactly optimal at the moment. It may take some creativity and may take some extra work, to make it all work. Sometimes as we work at making things work we get caught up in the doing trap of “Next”. Then whatever comes along next is what we do. And pretty soon you look up from doing to say, “How in the world did I get here?”

I will admit sometimes you do have to do whatever it takes, however the more you can stay it that place where you create the most value…the better. But to stay in your YES, you may have to learn to say NO.

Leadership is not a job or a role that you play, but a lifestyle…an expression of who you are. When you plant words of life, you reap rapport and relationship. Rapport and relationship positions you for influence and influence can position you for almost anything.

However influence and leadership is not cheap. There is a price to pay. A price of accountability and of responsibility to those you lead, to those over whom you have influence. Good leadership doesn’t make decisions based on today or even just tomorrow.

Seeds of greatness lie within each individual. For many, those seeds will remain just that, seeds of unrealized potential and possibility. From others greatness will emerge. Lives will be changed and the world impacted as their choices ripple outward.

What makes the difference between those that become and those that don’t?

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  • They have a vision for something that is bigger than just them and extends beyond just today. It is a dream fueled by passion and connected to action.
  •  They deal with the uncomfortable, awkward and negative issues, situations and relationship challenges that arise. They know that simply waiting for it to go away could leave them waiting for the rest of their life and time is precious.
  • They understand the power of consequence and so not make decisions solely on the comfort and convenience of today.
  • They take action…EVERY DAY! They have accepted responsibility for the realization of their vision and move toward it step by step day by day. They don’t despise the small steps, but are thankful for even small increments of progress.
  • They have not only defined what they like, BUT ALSO what they don’t like. They don’t focus on the “NO’s”. However by clearly defining what “NO” looks like, they are able to recognize what carries negative influences much sooner.
  • They operate with grace. Because they choose to forgive, they are free to move forward and are not tied to the past.
  • They know what it is to be a part of a team. They know their own strengths and weaknesses and are not threatened by others whose strengths and weaknesses are different from their own. They are able to ask for help when they need it.
  • They are not afraid of change and they are not trying to make everyone happy. As they move forward there will be others who are not supportive and who do not agree with the choices and decisions that they make. They understand that old adage, “You can’t please everyone all the time.”

Being a leader and carrying influence is about being a steward over the potential of your team, of your organization…your company. It is about empowering them to step up and be leaders over their sphere of influence. It is about speaking to the possibilities that exist and moving towards that day by day. How will your organization move forward,  first as individuals and then as a team…TODAY?

 Is this year all that you wanted it to be so far?

 What could have been better?

What are you planning to do about it?

If you haven’t been planning on changing…what makes you think that life will?

A new look means to look at the same stuff, but to look at it differently.

If I want better answers, I need to ask better questions…

If last years results aren’t the right answer then you need new answers…

Do you know what the answers are?

If so, what are your answers…and the lotto doesn’t count?

If not, where do you start?

Love only can exist with the ability to choose.

“If you do this, you can be like God”…they already were. They were deceived into thinking that by works they could get something that they already had, something they already were.

 The purpose of the enemy is always to call into question…as a child of the kingdom, as a citizen on this earth with the nationality of the kingdom, you have been redeemed.  The relationship between the work of your hands, your mouth and the creative nature of God which resides within you which can not help but to expand forth even as the universe can not cease to expand…has been restored to proper order. Your very nature is one of increase!

 Yet I can choose to consistently run on less gears than I have. I can consistently choose to underutilize my resources. Now in full knowledge, why would anyone do that…

 Fear that those resources are not mine…really…that the promise is in word and not in substance

 Fear that if I succeed it will be taken away…authority issues.

Fear that I am less than what has been said of me, fear that if I step out I will be exposed as the inadequate being that I am, and shamed.

 Without fear I can choose to operate within or without the authority that I have been given.

 Fear removes choice…for I now feel compelled to take care of my own safety.

 The tree of life that God gave me in the beginning, calibrated my being for life. I acted and chose based on the standards of life God had set within me.

 The tree of the knowledge of Good and evil removed the standards of God as the default and allowed me to choose which program, which standard I would want to run. The choices were overwhelming and because my ability to make choices was based on only my limited perspective…many of my choices were flawed.