I’m currently heading to, in or on my way back from Bolivia. The internet access (along with my time) is a little more sketchy there than here in the States. So I’m re-posting a few of mine and your favorite posts from the last year or so.
Enjoy!
All about the bling-da-bling-da-bling
In early 2008, my life was good. Our family businesses were in the midst of tremendous financial gain. Anyway you ran the numbers they looked good – increased clients, increased sales averages, increased margins, decreased cost of goods and on and on. We had buzz. We had followers. We had people courting us.
We were, no…I was a success. I had made it. I had arrived.
Life was good, then October hit.
Do you remember October of 2008? It’s when the bottom suddenly feel out of our economy. The markets fell, and with them pocket books closed.
By early 2009, I wondered if we were going to lose a business. Kia and I wondered if we would lose all of our businesses.
We went from boom to bust in just a few short months.
We were, no…I was no longer a success. I failed. I was sunk.
…or was I?
My 2014 Word of the Year was VISION, so I studied, read and thought about that word a lot.
Here is a lesson – too often we measure success in the wrong way.
One of the books I read was Visioneering by Andy Stanley. In it, he makes this statement:
Don’t confuse success with rewards. Success is faithfulness in the now. Rewards come eventually but only after sustained success.
In 2008, my success did not hinge on dollars earned, clients gained or increased followers. My success was based on my faithfulness to a vision.
In fact, I continued to be a success in 2009, in the midst of the exact opposite of what I experienced in 2008; I continued faithfulness to the vision.
We still failed.
That’s right, the business failed.
Why? We lost site of our vision. We chased rewards.
None the less, I wouldn’t trade that experience for anything. I learned amazing lessons. I learned to measure my success with faithfulness to my vision; rewards will come in time.
What about you?
What is your vision?
Are you chasing success or rewards?
Have you learned anything from your failures?
Andy:
I appreciate your story and the willingness to tell it. While the business may have failed financially, you were put in a position to encourage people. And that you did. My family was blessed because of you. And more importantly, I gained a friend.
Chris
Chris –
Thanks. Great point, and I don’t regret any of it. I wish I would have made some better decisions along the way, but that’s part of learning.
You’re right, the real legacy of spa – senior portrait artists – were the relationships I’ve made, and others made through it.
Thanks!
Andy
Hello, just wanted to say, I loved this blog post. It was inspiring.
Keep on posting!