Here at SuccessCREEations we are taking a bit of a breather as we vacation up in Wisconsin. My wife and I are dealing with some aging parent issues, which is never easy for a child to deal with.
Our forced isolation from the internet has got us thinking about our priorities and values. The beginning of a new year is a great point to set some time aside to reevaluate purpose and direction.
The principle aim of business is to make money. Without a profit, our businesses are not sustainable. However, while profit is rightly the primary driving force behind our business, should it be the only consideration?
What about on a personal level?
I am of the opinion that most of us long to make a difference in our world. Many are like Jesse Petersen who wrote last week over at Successful-Blog asking how he could make a difference with his life.
The discussion that resulted from that post, and the advice given by all the folks wanting to help is well worth the time to read through.
The truth is most of us are not going to have the same stature in world history as say, Gandhi, Mother Theresa, or Abraham Lincoln.
But the fact that the vast majority of us will live our lives in relative obscurity shouldn’t deceive us into believing our lives aren’t producing a difference.
The message from that timeless holiday classic It’s a Wonderful Life still rings true. Each of our lives already touch more folks that we probably appreciate.
The way to make the most difference in this world is to get outside ourselves, start where we are, and do what we can.
That may sound simplistic. But sometimes the most difficult challenges have the simplest answers.
But make no mistake, simple does not equal easy. It can be much easier to skip the whole thing, get narcissistic, inward focused, and not bother getting started making that difference.
We can focus on how to squeeze the last penny of profit from our businesses and forget that it is really people, and not dollars, that make our businesses thrive and grow.
On the other hand, if we, like George Baily in that classic movie, remember to keep people first, we will likely find that our businesses continue to grow and will even survive the inevitable hard times that will eventually come our way.
And then at the same time we will be making a difference all along the way.
It gives us all something to ponder as we start the new year.
I will still be a bit removed from the internet for the next week or so. I’ll check in as I can.
Enjoy!
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