2020 has been one for the books. That’s for sure. Ugh!
We can all find excuses for our frustrations, sadness, anger, or plain and simple disenchantment this year. I know I can. A few personal ones include COVID-19 for the isolation from family and friends and the loss of life and jobs it has created in our country. The Derecho storm that ravaged my home town of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, one week ago today and the hundreds of thousands of people without electricity and the damaged homes and properties. The effects that addictions can have on families and destruction it can do to an individual’s life. And the loss of loved ones. The irreplaceable lives that so many have loved and mourn for once they are no longer there.
So what does this have to do with business? Well, it’s called accountability. Being accountable for ourselves and our actions in times of adversity. To rise above those feelings of frustration, anger, sadness, and disenchantment in our lives. So many people are suffering from job loss as a result of COVID-19. I know this not only because of the statistics I see on the news and read about. But because I talk with many of these individuals day in and day out about their possible next career steps. Specifically, taking their future into their own hands through business ownership.
So if you are experiencing these same feelings of frustration, anger, sadness, and disenchantment with the world around you and perhaps in your job or current situation of unemployment, how do you hold yourself accountable? Do you have an “accountability mirror”? In all transparency, I didn’t until this past week. I always had one, not knowing that’s what it was called, but I still had a goal in sight and worked my ass off to reach that goal. At one time, it was to complete my MBA. Check! Then it was to train and run a marathon before I turned 40. Check! Then it was to open my own business – a boutique fitness studio. Check! Then it was to leave the corporate world after 21 years and start another business. Check! Then, well, that’s where I left off.
Last week I started reading “Can’t Hurt Me” by David Goggins. Holy smokes. Yes, remember, I am an Iowa girl. 
If you are one that needs a sprinkle of inspiration in your life right now, this is a must-have read for you. Talk about overcoming adversity through changing one’s mindset. I could personally relate to some of David Goggins early years where it spoke of witnessing parental abuse and the effects that it has on children. It’s horrific. But to see how David Goggins turned his hard-learned lessons into unbelievable accomplishments re-ignited a fire in me that I am not yet done with my #accountabilitymirror, and I have a ton yet to accomplish.
If you sit back and close your eyes, do you have the “ability to see the end before it begins”? That’s how David Goggins accomplished his tremendous goals. He always had the end in sight and took whatever steps were necessary to accomplish that goal.
What are your goals? Are you stuck in a job that feels meaningless to you? Do you aspire to have freedom in your life decisions and be your own boss? Do you want financial independence? Do you want to help others by giving back to your community while financially supporting your family? Or do you want to grow a business on the side to create passive income?
If any of this resonates with you, I would love the opportunity to chat with you. It only takes one step to make a lifetime of difference. If you’re not ready yet and still need some inspiration. Read the damn book (I’m just preparing for you for a few expletives in it)! Can’t Hurt Me.
My #accountabilitymirror tells me I need to get my ass home to Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and help family and friends any way I can recover from the storm and to hug a friend that just lost her father. After that, watch out world, I will be on fire (again)! #canthurtme
