Friday Thoughts

I'm in somewhat of a funk today. I received a picture this morning from a pilot friend of mine who has the exact same airplane as I do, and he had crashed yesterday. Everyone is alright, but the plane is totaled. Looking at the picture gives me many thoughts, some not so pleasant, about training and taking personal responsibility.

It is widely accepted and proven by research that it takes 7 repetitions of information for consumers to really understand what you are saying or selling. The same holds true, I believe, about training of any type. Pilots spend a lot of time training for potential problem situation (like crashing) so that they can do as my friend did, walk away from the crash unhurt. Being in business today isn't really much different, we need to constantly train in our profession to keep sharp and stay current with the ever changing world we all live in. When was the last time you took a day away from your business to train for a potential problem situation? What about taking training for personal growth?

Accepting personal responsibility is another area that flashed thru my mind today when I was looking at the picture. This pilot took personal responsibility firmly in his own hands when his life was on the line during that emergency. He recalled the training that he purposely took to be prepared, and applied it quickly to the situation he was facing. He showed personal responsibility by knowing and taking action to stay current as a pilot so that when times of stress did show up he was prepared and knew exactly what he had to do. When was the last time you took time to learn or review what is important to your business? What are you doing in your life to accept your personal responsibility for your situation that you may be facing?

I'm sad also as there is the loss of a great aircraft. Not sure what caused this accident, but no matter what caused it, the plane is a total loss. Isn't our current economy somewhat like that? Some businesses and many people are suffering right now with situations that may not be their fault and that is just a fact, but just like my friend who is rejoicing that nobody was injured or hurt, we can be happy that every single day is another new opportunity for a fresh start. No matter what we may have failed at today, we get another opportunity to do something different tomorrow. When was the last time you took time to consider what you would like a "DO OVER" about tomorrow?

The thought I want to leave you with today is this: No matter what happens to you or in your life today, you have the ability to choose HOW you respond to that situation. You can take personal responsibility and be trained and ready for potential problems or you can just have something completely unexpected pop upon you and still use your gifts and talents to respond and limit the damage. It is all your choice. Make wise choices today my friends.

These are my thoughts today, what are yours?
Steve