A Little Talk

Every single day is an experience. Oh the tales that can be told about each day - there's so much, it's impossible to capture. Too important to write down the highlights & not forget some of the small things that comprise each day that help inform decisions of the next. So, so many of the small details add up to be big ones, I am seeing things add up.

Yesterday
Dear blog reader: if you ever feel the strong desire to go back to school as the solution to being in a job or profession you're not completely satisfied with, might I suggest starting with the really inexpensive Toastmasters. If there's one thing I've ever done that's paid off many, many times what I've invested, it has been this. Off my soap box, paying a lot of $ for formal education typically doesn't make sense if one really wants to learn; there are 1,000 ways of doing it for little to nothing. I used to wake up uber early to prep for and attend a 6:30-8am Toastmasters meeting every other week. Once it's possible to give a well-constructed, organized speech of 7-10 minutes in length at 6:30am, no speech after that can ever be seen as challenging.

Yesterday I spoke to a group of 25+ women in business in Lexington. It was a 20 minute talk about who I am, what my career path has been to get me here and what is involved in the business I'm helping run and manage.

Key points were these:

- I have had no career path and I don't have a "career." My path has been one of my making as I've been following my heart, doing what I want to do--insisting upon it (to myself) even when I haven't been qualified (how many jobs have I ever done that I started off qualified? None that I can recall.) Then I have let things fall into place naturally from there. Now I have a lifestyle, not a career, not a job. The word "career" has never set well with me, I'm not entirely sure why. All of my other jobs have been jobs. Each has been a major player in my life and I have each to thank and many people have made a big difference, too. This is just the beginning and I am a beginner. Every day I begin again, taking on something that is new. I'm not an expert on anything, but if my story can inspire, I am happy to tell it.

- Community is critical and key to the success of the business. It's about connection with people, an individual approach, friendliness and inclusion. There is so much to this, but this is the 50,000 ft view.

- I described the business model to the attendees and the result. People connect, great ideas are shared, people are accomplishing goals they wouldn't have dreamed of weeks or months ago. Friends have been made, spouses have the space to thank as the place where they spend quality time together. High-end bikes and high-end coffee - the best in class is offered so as to create the optimal experience. The list goes on and on. I could go on and on. I often think of the Studio as a think tank, a retreat, an oasis from the realities of the outside world. I only hope that it inspires, helps others to think differently, rest, rejuvenate. It has been all of these things to me, but I'd like to see it be even more. The bikes go along with this very nicely.

If sniffing a crayon makes a person's blood pressure lower, then seeing or touching a bike likely has the very same effect - likely much more considering the emotions surrounding riding that almost every person brings with him or her from throughout life's major experiences where a bike had some role.

For me, crayons make my blood pressure higher. My worst grades in school came from coloring assignments as I couldn't stay within the lines and I found those assignments to be incredibly boring. I'm still upset about being reprimanded in Kindergarten for not coloring the drawing of the greenhouse the right way. I'm fortunate that I developed a healthy relationship with bikes as that was precarious, too. Most of my first bike-related experiences weren't great, to be honest, with my great experiences all coming once I was an adult. I only got a road bike after having to *really* be talked into getting it.

- There are daily challenges, but it's the passion that I have for what I do that carry me from one day to the next. How could anyone push through tough days if one isn't doing what one loves? It would be impossible for me.

Afterward one woman mentioned to me that it appears that I have no fear that typical people would naturally carry with them. I hadn't seen it from that perspective before. Have I gotten to the point that I see risk and am able to stare it down without flinching? Maybe in some areas, but I still have a long way to go. I have found that this is the most important factor in being successful in business. How does this translate?

See the goal clearly - invest all of the resources it takes to reach the goal - success is not guaranteed but it is guaranteed to not happen if it the goal hasn't been fully pursued. It's the investment of resources that is so heart-droppingly scary, but those who can do it are the successful ones.