This week I had multiple meetings with multiple companies. I was on a fast and continuous pace, probably not much different than many of you reading this. But what I thought about during this fast paced week wasn’t the meetings or the people, it was the “head down” nature of it, serious meetings without much levity. I felt myself becoming more and more serious, which doesn’t usually feel that good to me.
But this week, I was in it to win it, and was surprised at how I got sucked into this fast paced meeting-after-meeting vibe, trying to get accomplishment after accomplishment racked up.
One morning in particular, I was set to give a very controversial talk. I was going to speak on a real change of perspective and I realized that I wasn’t smiling, wasn’t feeling good, even about preparing my talking points. So I grabbed myself and said, Whoa Nellie! I’ve got to shake out of this.
I left my room, went and got some green tea and asked myself, oh my, what has come over me? I really want to accomplish something out of this talk. What happen to me? I needed to shake this off in a big way.
So I decided I had to first realize that whatever happens in the talk scheduled for later that morning, the only thing I have to do is smile and be myself. Forget the talking points, forget any agenda just go with it and enjoy the opportunity to address these people, in an industry I know nothing about. Just bring a different thought process — mine–. Then it hit me, I am blessed!
When I thought about that word “blessed,” I could feel a smile coming out of me. Then, I started thinking about all the blessings in my life. My awesome family, my awesome colleagues, and how blessed I was to even have this chance to have a microphone and a stage.
Wow! This was really working. I was starting to feel like myself again. Then I thought that my peers and the folks I will be around today would never think of the word blessed as a business tool, but it worked for me and I wanted to share it.
So, how many times during the week do you stop and realize how blessed you are? You are healthy, active, have a job. Maybe even more important, you are curious, thought provoking. Hey, you are blessed just to be you. Yes, that incredible version of you!
Today, take the time –no matter where you are, or what situation you are in, and take a moment and be thankful for who you are and how blessed you are. I am going to do it every day now.
On stage, with two other great panelists, the most fun thing was to smile and realize how blessed I was to be sitting between two industry leaders, and in front of 350 or so people. It was time to have fun and I did! Feeling so blessed the entire time.
This tool, now in my arsenal, is going to be used all the time. In fact, I used it at another meeting. It was supposed to be a dinner meeting with three other individuals, that had all been in a serious head down mode. So I stayed with the theme of being blessed. There wasn’t really any dinner, just a lot of smiling fun, and very little real business. But it was a moment that was blessed. I might add blessed by three bottles of Jordan Cabernet and a Seafood Tower… Because I really wanted to celebrate these individuals and coming off a week that was almost a head down, serious disaster for me, I was sure that they hadn’t had much fun at all anyway. This evening was about being blessed and having fun, so we did it up right and had a lot of fun. I picked up the bill for the Jordan Cabernet, put the receipt in my pocket and made a conscious decision not to look at how much it was, because it wasn’t relevant. I already new the company wouldn’t reimburse for it, so why stress about it? It was what it was.
The next day we met again and there was an airiness to the meeting, and everyone said how much fun the evening was. They said they hadn’t had so much fun at a dinner meeting in a long time. I, too, said wow, what a blessed evening!. It was a perfect evening with three other key individuals, set to make a major change in world initiatives. So it was worth it.
Later, I checked out of the hotel for a couple more meetings, then I was on a flight home, which I was very much looking forward to. I kept the blessed theme going all the way home. And really felt blessed when, finally, after a day that felt like a 10k run, I was in my own bed.
The next day, I woke up and started to do my most uncomfortable task –sorting receipts for expenses. I really don’t like doing it, so my assistant usually does this, but sometimes I need to write who was with me, and black out non-deductible expenses. So I needed to find and black out the expense for the Jordan wine and Lobster seafood tower, or the entire hotel bill would be held up. So I got the black marker out and went through the bill.
And, can you believe it? Yup, you are right! There was no bill for that evening on the hotel receipt.
Blessed, indeed!
AZ
