What limits business opportunity? It is your mindset!

Doing business from a wheelchair is interesting to say the least. I am sure there are those who are do life from a position of limited mobility who might say I know nothing of the challenge but the glimpse I have into the planning and preparation that goes in to every appointment and activity has certainly given me perspective and gratitude.

As I am venturing out, seeing clients, teaching workshops, networking... all while in a wheelchair, not using the tools that are so familiar to me, I realize most of the limitation is in our minds.

People ask, "How do you do it? Isn't it hard?" I am thinking in my head, "Yes, it is challenging. But the alternative is not an option for me." I ask them out loud, "What would you have me do? Lay in my bed until my leg is healed? Three months break in the momentum I've built doing what I love to do? Not a chance!" It is attitude that makes a difference.

I grasp the little things that go into paying attention to others struggles by noticing the attention of others paid to me. Whether with limited mobility of other challenges in doing business. Think about it. It may not be limited mobility, just limited access to resources, capital, opportunity. What can each of us do to help?

I marvel at the wealth of information that each of us hold within our grasp freely available to us and open for us to share...if we had a mindset to do so.

My question for you. Who can you help today? This is the true spirit of networking.

Summer Time Activities Bring Unexpected Adventures!

The connections I’ve made and the network I’ve created over the years has proven invaluable to me this past week.

Last summer my husband and I started taking much needed weekend road trips on our motorcycle. Last Friday while touring Southern Oregon we encountered every bikers lurking fear, loose gravel! Time stood still as we took the slow turn and the bike slid out from under us. I broke my right leg (not my bad one) and my husband broke his collar bone, thank God we were going slowly and we have good gear or it might have been worse. We are on the road to recovery, facing each challenge and finding many new reasons to be grateful.

Needless to say, it’s been an interesting week trying to run my business from a hospital room in Roseburg. I’m sure it will take months if not years to extract all the life lessons from this event but I can say the first one I’ve learned is the awesome power of my network. When I called to cancel appointments, I had more offers of help than I could have imagined. Both colleagues and clients alike have been incredibly gracious and it reaffirms to me that when you connect on purpose you create relationships that give in more ways than you can imagine.

I will back in my office on Monday, seeing clients and tackling the challenges that limited mobility brings. The addition of Laura James to the Connectworks team could not have been timelier. Watch for more about Laura’s new role in the next QuickConnect for Busy People.

Until next time, happy networking.