We recently returned from celebrating our nephew’s fifteenth birthday. It was a simple affair, because he wanted simple. We ate chicken sandwiches and sang happy birthday over homemade peanut butter and chocolate brownies with chocolate-churro ice cream. We had a wonderful time, and my nephew was very appreciative of our celebration.
Every year in this country, most of us attend a few birthday celebrations, think of gifts and cards, and bring a present. Some birthdays have more weight however, because they represent a transition, a bridge into a new era of life. Such is the case with celebrating a fifteenth birthday. Or for some, a fourteenth birthday, or sixteenth. It marks the beginning of the road into adulthood, a complicated road, with many twists and turns.
When we face making transitions we know are more complicated we can get stuck, and risk never making it to adulthood. We feel afraid of walking into the unknown, unprepared. We have an idea of how we will be different at the other end of this road, but we don’t really know or understand the road itself. It is impossible for us to do so because we will ourselves be transformed by our walk.
I call this the caterpillar effect. We chew away at our old leaves and complain of how thing are, instead of entering the chrysalis. This is the stage when the caterpillar wraps itself into a cocoon, all of the cells becoming a soup, a liquid, before reorganizing themselves into a butterfly.
When I work with business owners I notice those most successful at taking the turn trust their values and destination. They know not to wait until they are ready and prepared by knowing every detail of the road, because they know they will never be ready. Instead, they build a “cocoon”, the structure to hold and protect the changes they will be making.
If you are facing a time of transition in your business call me to clarify your priorities, and find out how to build your cocoon to move forward.
You can reach me at 831-359-2241 or send me an email at[email protected]
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