I have been fortunate enough to live rural for a number of years and over this time I have learnt many things through rural living that also applies to business. Raised as an Auckland city girl… in my younger days… I found plants, trees and farm animals not really that exciting. I loved working and I had it all figured out at the ripe age of 16.
99% of all my goals I achieved up until I was 25…and then I had a dramatic turn in my situation and well as we all know, life has a way of throwing you curve balls that twist more than once.
Through these challenges I have learnt that when you take the time out to admire, observe and experience your natural environment it will promise to teach life lessons that a hundred business seminars could never teach you. I am not meaning this comment to be disrespectful towards the amazing trainers out there (I’m a trainer myself). It’s just nature has a way of speaking to your inner soul that is so refreshing and to the point…that it can be incredibly life changing.
So here I am – 5 years into living in our 1 hectare lifestyle block and I am faced with the reality that there are some trees (as beautiful as they are) that need to be cut out. I have battled my husband for two years over this. Giving every justifiable reason why we should not cut down some of our gorgeous magnolias and cherry blossoms that I love so much. After all, they are the very reason why I fell in love with the property.
My own mind-set and love for beauty has held us back. These very trees have been blocking our fruit trees from the sun since we moved here and not to mention cherry blossoms have a short life span so already they are starting to die out. But in my mind-set I kept hoping to get ‘one more season’ of pretty flowers. Therefore, in this instance I put beauty before production.
Oh how wrong I have been.
Often in business we make the same critical errors. We put beauty before productive growth and therefore create a big restriction on how far we can take our business. Sometimes we consume our “working space” with the ideals rather than what will get us the results. Looking good (especially in Hollywood) can be an addiction and most of the world responds positively to this…however, if we supplement the practical growth needs of our business with the ‘pretty’ things …we will continue to limit ourselves BIG time.
I am certainly not against the ‘pretty things’ in business…it is important to make sure you are not putting that above everything else.
So I did it, I allowed my husband to cut out the ‘pretty’ trees and WOW …the sunlight that beams into our backyard is extraordinary! AND the fruit tress already are growing at a more rapid rate than I could even imagine. So this simple change let the ‘sunlight’ into our backyard like never before and I could see a completely different outlook that I had never seen since we moved here.
This too can be true of your business!
Like my backyard I had set up some ‘pretty trees’ in my business and this has held me back …the consequence was limited growth and a blocked perspective on how I could transition my business to the next level.
So as a result of my rural lesson …I sat down and worked out what needs to be CUT out in my business and devised a plan to allow for a NEW type of growth to happen.
I encourage you to think seriously about the things that only look good or make you look good in your business and ask yourself if they are really helping you grow a productive, profitable business that brings you better returns on your investment.
At first, it may feel painful …hang in there and see it through …I know the results you will achieve will be far greater!
Think carefully and dare to ask yourself….What do I need to cut out in my business?…and make sure you write these things down!
I would love to hear your story….
AND if you get stuck remember there are experts that can help you through…my husband certainly didn’t pick up a chain saw one day and decided he would cut some trees down – he took training courses to learn how to do this.
Also, be aware that the …the BIGGER the tree you cut down…the more professional HELP you may need…
If you would like to chat further about what’s going on for you in your business– you can reach me on the below contacts…
phone/text: 021 948 211
skype: zita.cameron1