On New Year’s Day, my wife, son and I got together with two other couples and their little boys. In other words, we met up with our “parent friends.”
Now if you’re a parent, you’re already quite familiar with “parent friends.” But if you’re not a parent, here’s the translation: Parent Friends are other people who have kids that your kid is friends (or at least friendly) with.
The Joy of Adult Conversations
What’s the appeal of getting together with Parent Friends? The kids can get totally crazy with one another. Meanwhile, you and the other parents have an adult conversation. At least for a little while anyway… At some point, one of the kids uses a jump rope as a makeshift grappling hook and is now orbiting the family room after entangling said jump rope in the ceiling fan. And it’s mom or dad to the rescue!
It’s a Brand New Year… Time for Some Positivity!
During our New Year’s get together with our Parent Friends, the conversation turned a bit grim. First the other two dads got into a rather heavy political discussion. Then one of the dads began describing a fairly heinous car accident he was in, and the not inconsiderable injuries he sustained as result. This went on until his wife finally cut him off: “It’s a new year,” she said “let’s talk about something positive!”
And she’s ABOSULTELY right. It is a new year. There’s been plenty of very rough water under the bridge lately… We could all certainly do with some positivity.
The Power of Perspective
Her proclamation also got me thinking about marketing and business, too…
It actually brought an important question to mind. What’s the most overlooked aspect of effectively managing your business? The power of PERSPECTIVE.
Believe it or not, success and failure are both a function of perspective.
Let’s say you launched a marketing campaign, and it totally flopped. Didn’t earn you one thin dime. Now you’d be tempted to call it a failure. But truthfully, every action you take – whether superficially deemed a “success” or “failure” – is a potential lesson. It’s an opportunity to learn, grow and improve. At the very least, you’ve discovered that particular approach doesn’t work. And now you have the opportunity to figure out why, and develop an approach that DOES work.
Or let’s say you earned half as much this year as you did last year. A pretty significant drop to be sure. But what changed in your life? What changed in the economy? And what changed in the world in general? With major changes in your personal life, the economy and the world at large – changes that just keep on comin’ – the fact that you’re still in business and still turning a profit is a HUGE achievement!
It all boils down to perspective.
Struggling to gain perspective on your business?
Swing by my Google+ page for a little adjustment.
