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Take a good look at yourself... and grow your business.

Written by: Ed Drozda

Article Overview: As a participant in a life-changing challenge I was able to see myself (and others) in a way I never had before. This experience taught me the value of getting to know myself and others as well. The crux of any business is its people- I challenge you to get to know yourself and the people you work with.

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Take a good look at yourself... and grow your business.

In the year 2000 my wife and I joined some 3500 other walkers to go 67 miles (Leominster MA to Boston) in an event called the Avon Breast Cancer 3-Day. You heard it, 67 miles in 3 days on 2 feet. In the ensuing two years we had occasion to serve as crew members, supporting the walkers. Our crew team ran a pit stop; our goal was to provide treats, fluids and moral support for the walkers; our team theme was tooth fairies (go to my website to see the pictures and the “rest of the story”. Sometimes you have to step outside of the comfort zone and adopt a less serious approach. At the end of those three days, despite the benefit of a megaphone I had no voice left. Let me tell you, it is some challenge to keep people charged when they are physically and emotionally worn. Let’s face it, these people walked for a lot of reasons. Some of them are breast cancer survivors themselves; others are walking in honor of loved ones lost to or still battling this devastating disease. For me, it was in memory of my Mom who had breast cancer yet died of other causes and a dear friend who battled the disease for many years, ultimately to succumb.

But this is not a sad story; in fact this experience was the most life-changing of my time on this earth. Each of my three years participating in this event I was fortunate to be amongst amazingly selfless people. To say I was humbled does not come close to describing the feelings that surged through me. The tears flowed freely as did the joy, the cheers and the hope. There is no place I would rather have been, no experience that would have satisfied me more profoundly. I discovered strength and passion in me I had no idea existed, not to mention what I learned of so many others.

OK, so what does this have to do with business anyway? Well, here are my thoughts. A business is first, about people; employees, clients, the public at large, and so on. The common denominator in business is people. Yet, when we get caught up in running a business (or for that matter being in business) it’s easy to lose our appreciation for those people upon whom our business depends. That is not something we can afford to do. My 3-Day experience taught me a lot about how I look at myself and at others. You have heard the old adage ‘walk a mile in my shoes’. How about walking a mile alongside yourself? What would that be like? Take a close look at your day to day. How does it feel? What would it be like to be your own employee, a client or even your boss? Do you know yourself this well? Do you have the nerve to? If you do I congratulate you as I suspect you are in the minority. If you do not, my challenge to you is that you start the journey. When you do, you will be enriched in ways you cannot imagine.

I know; it took me three days and 67 miles. Start walking...

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Home > Business-Coach > Ed Drozda > Take a good look at yourself and grow your business
Article Tags: comaraderie, exploration, participant, self awareness

About the Author: Ed Drozda
RSS for Ed's articles - Visit Ed's website

Do you own or manage a small business? Do you feel that you have the answers, but are consistently unable to get beyond the planning stage? 

My name is Ed Drozda and I am the Sounding Board for the Successful Business Leader. If you're looking to grow your' business and things aren't going the way you had planned, it's time to explore the value of partnering with a business coach. You will:

Develop Clarity

Devise and Implement Realistic Strategies

Maintain Accountability

...and best of all, drastically improve your bottom line!

Contact me today to arrange a no cost exploratory session at 508-695-2146 or at ed@4eandd.com; on the web at http://www.4eandd.com.



Click here to visit Ed's website
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More from Ed Drozda
The Path of Least Resistance
A Tale of Two Eateries its not just about the food
Whats That You Said
But I Wanted to Sit With Mom
People Who Live in Glass Houses


Related Forum Posts
Re: Persistence gives live to small business. Re: Persistence gives live to small business. - [quote="topeyinka":vf3wc4t6]While I was reading about the 10th year anniversary of google, I counted back 10 years and what I see was persistent. Every small business can grow big if we will be persistent. Persistent actually brings consistence. There is no business that cannot grow big if the owner will not be too haste to succeed. Hastiness has always been the bane of colapsed small business. Whatever you do as antergreneur keep at it and be innovative about it, you will soon be celebrating growth. To me, there is no business that cannot grow be if persistence is employed.[/quote:vf3wc4t6] Hi topeyinka, Actually, you have started a good thread here. I have seen alot of people that have started good business but failed to continue due to lack of persistence. What my granny always taught then was that there is no business you want to do that has not been done before but what makes one to stand other fall is the persistent of the owners. She did give me examples of her mates that they did same business alike then but quit because they could not endure the heaps of the business, she said despite what she went through, she could scale through because she was persisited. Several times, my granny had given task in business to see if I would backed out. This training is keeping standing today that there is business that cannot grow big if we continue it through innovatives and persist to succeed. It is good to have ideas but you will not be persisted with your ideas, you might found out that ideas is not enough. Thank you. cheers!
Persistence gives live to small business. Persistence gives live to small business. - While I was reading about the 10th year anniversary of google, I counted back 10 years and what I see was persistent. Every small business can grow big if we will be persistent. Persistent actually brings consistence. There is no business that cannot grow big if the owner will not be too haste to succeed. Hastiness has always been the bane of colapsed small business. Whatever you do as antergreneur keep at it and be innovative about it, you will soon be celebrating growth. To me, there is no business that cannot grow be if persistence is employed.
Re: Persistence gives live to small business. Re: Persistence gives live to small business. - [quote="topeyinka":160scfau]While I was reading about the 10th year anniversary of google, I counted back 10 years and what I see was persistent. Every small business can grow big if we will be persistent. Persistent actually brings consistence. There is no business that cannot grow big if the owner will not be too haste to succeed. Hastiness has always been the bane of colapsed small business. Whatever you do as antergreneur keep at it and be innovative about it, you will soon be celebrating growth. To me, there is no business that cannot grow be if persistence is employed.[/quote:160scfau] Thanks for the contributions am real informed better now!
Are you afraid to really GROW? Are you afraid to really GROW? - Now i'm not generalizing here.. ok maybe a little. I've recently been noticing a very strange trend with small business owners. Many of the business owners i've met with recently are afraid to really grow. They want to make more money and they want to improve, but when it comes down to it, they are scared of what those changes may or may not mean to their business. This fascintates me. Isn't the whole reason we've chosen to start a business mean we eventually want it to grow? Are they scared it will move too fast and get out of control? I'm curious to other's thoughts on this.
Ideal professional services provider Ideal professional services provider - Hi James, What I like in a professional service provider is that they go beyond their area of expertise to try to help your business grow. They try to introduce you to other clients or people in their network who might help you. If they come across an article that might be of interest to you, they send it. They give you suggestions for your business based on the other companies they have seen and worked with. My lawyer, financial advisor, and accountant are all great at helping me grow my business beyond providing their professional services (still working on my banker!). This is why I use them and I send many of my friends and associates to them.


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