28 of 100 – Some Things Are Special Just Because

May 14th is a special day for me. It's my mother's birthday. She passed away when I was young and I have very fond memories of her. My nephew was born on the 14th on a day I was traveling to Chicago. When I landed, I got a voicemail from my wife giving me the news. It made a special day for me even more special.

We've all got memories tied to specific dates, events, activities, etc. We associate emotions and feelings to these and our response when we experience them again is the same even though they have nothing to do with the "thing" itself.

We all have these and some are not so good for us. When I was younger, I had nothing but horrible feelings associated with confrontations. I would take a peace at all cost approach that didn't serve me very well. It came from my being raise in a family that just didn't confront very often. We preferred to take the higher ground and avoid going head on with people. Later in life, because it was hurting me in life, business, etc. I worked at breaking down this aversion. How I got over it is the topic for a full blown article, but I disassociated those negative feelings with confrontations and now handle confrontation pretty well.

I'm so glad I took care of that before starting my business.

I've seen people do poorly with money. They grew up never thinking they would have a lot of money or thinking that people with money are crooked. They almost work against making money even though they clearly want their businesses to succeed. That can be a real mess.

As business owners, we have enough to deal with. We have issues growing sales, keeping customers satisfied, motivating our team. The list goes on and on and one. We cannot be working against ourselves with demons that cripple us. The make additional issues we just cannot afford to handle.

So my advise is become as self aware as you possibly can. Attack your demons and personal issues as quickly as you can. Your business will thank you in return.