Dorothy we aren't in Kansas anymore

“It is so hard when I have to, and so easy when I want to.” Annie Gottlier

As the calendar turned another year, it caused me to reflect on the past year and to do some vision casting for 2009. Last year was difficult. It looks like next year is going to be challenging as well. I would love to tell you otherwise, but I am guessing that it is going to be tough. I know what it is like to be a business owner in tough times. I experienced them myself after 9-11 and it wasn’t a whole lot of fun. I have spent some time reflecting on that time in my life and I think the biggest lesson I learned is about my attitude.

In challenging times it is difficult to get past the task right in front of you. It becomes all consuming. Whether it is wondering how to make the mortgage, payroll or insurance, it consumes you as a business owner. It isn’t fun. Many of you poke fun at my receding hairline or the “paunch” around my midsection, but that wasn’t the case before 9-11. 9-11 and the ensuing days changed my life. I don’t know if I could have done anything differently that would have led to holding on to my business, but I know that I could have done some things differently and that might have led to a less brutal demise and possibly a few more follicles left on my head.

The biggest thing that I lost through that time is my energy and enthusiasm for my job. I forgot that I chose to follow my dreams and open my own business. Instead of finding the joy in doing what I wanted to do all my life, I focused on the faltering economy and declining sales. I spent all day chasing and reacting rather than planning and acting with a purpose. It wasn’t long before I was just going through the motions. Working at a job rather than pursuing a career and a dream. The change it attitude didn’t happen overnight. It was a slow decay of my morale and world view. I never stopped to check myself. I just flowed from one thing to the next, I stopped living and working with intention. It made a tough time miserable, and it didn’t have to be so.

I challenge each and every one of you to ask yourself why you are doing what you are. Why did you become a chef, a small business owner, a caterer, a restauranteur, or a manager? What was it that compelled you to pursue this line of work? My guess it was because you had a passion to create, to serve, to conquer. Just because times are a little tough doesn’t mean that you have to give up that dream of creating, serving, and conquering. This is when it gets fun. This is when we need to remember why we got into this field and draw on the joy of living out that dream. It will lift your spirits and lift your mind. It will redefine our purposes each and every day. It will bring back the fire and the drive to succeed.

It is going to be a challenging year for us in food sales. My company didn’t lower their expectations for my success. I have some daunting numbers to achieve, and admittedly I had a few head scratching moments where I wondered what the heck I was going to do to succeed in 2009, but then I thought about why I got into sales. I love helping people achieve success. I love to problem solve, be a difference maker and to bring value. I am actually excited about 2009….this is what I was born to do. I know it. I believe that if you can rekindle that fire inside that drove you into your chosen field, you too will have that same shot of adrenaline that I have experienced. This is what we are supposed to be doing! It is going to be fun.

The last five or six years it has been relatively easy to be a success. Consumers were looking for new ways to spend their money, and at times it seemed as if all you had to do was open your doors and the people would come. It isn’t that way anymore, and it is quite shocking to all of us. But it doesn’t have to be the end of any of us. These are the times that separate the wheat from the chaff and it is our turn to join together and find success. It is going to take creativity, risk and hard work, but if you are pursuing what your dreams you will find yourself invigorated and energized by the challenge.

Find that spark inside and remember that life can be hard, but it doesn’t have to be miserable. We have a choice each and every day and it is up to us to work and live with enthusiasm and joy. It can be contagious. I was at the movie theater yesterday and I was in line to buy some popcorn and the manager of the concession stand was excited. Everyone around him knew it. “Happy New Year” he would yell out to each new customer. A compliment and a cheesy joke about some trivial thing accompanied everyone’s change. It was a little dorky (according to my 16 year old it was near fatal dorkiness), but I noticed everyone around him was smiling. The lines were long but people were still smiling because one guy remembered why he got into his career.

Take a little quiet time to sort your thoughts and relight that fire within you to drive your business and your success to great heights in 09!