I had recently taken some much needed time off to reflect and recover (which has taken much longer than I expected to this day) after my previous career and role simply was not available to me anymore. And after much thought I decided to launch a business doing what I seemed to be good at historically, events.
Yes you guessed it. I launched an events business when you couldn’t actually do events.
Of course I didn’t know that was the reality.
I wasn’t trying to be clever.
It is just that no one knew the pandemic was not a few months and instead charged ahead for years.
So what do you do when life has changed dramatically and even your best efforts to re-invent yourself in a new career isn’t going to plan?
What have I learned so far from this uncomfortable experience?
I learned I needed to be flexible
When my business plan appeared to be a plan for failure pretty quickly I had to flex. I had to look at what other things I could do.
Yes a business plan should be precise and have measurable goals, and maybe I can get there one day when things are different. But my current success trajectory is based on me and my business being more flexible and responding to opportunities that I might think randomly come my way.
I say yes to new opportunities if they fit the skills we have.
I say yes to uncomfortable with the hope it develops us further into something pretty special.
I say no to needing to have all the answers why, and go with what is in front of me now.
I learned I needed to keep learning
I have honestly loved learning things all my life. And in this season I am pushing myself to keep learning no matter what. To keep adding to my skills and understanding literally a little every single day.
When you are a little older and with a lot less energy reserve this is a challenge. But this world appears to belong to those who want to gain fresh understanding and an expanded skill base, without loosing your values!
I learned that I was not superman
But I still have something to offer…
I spent too much time during my life on reflection trying to prove myself. In fact the best thing you could ever say to me for many years to motivate me was to tell me I couldn’t do something. That was one of my kryptonite’s. One of my triggers. So I worked stupidly hard to achieve the unachievable, with some sort of an undiagnosed superman complex.
Today I try and live different.
I am not superman but I am something the world needs. I have skills and values that just need a good home. It is better that I focus on the flex and the learning while growing into the best version of me. A version of Locky developed at a pace that makes better sense for where I am at now.
Maybe one or all three of these points resonates in some way with you today?
In full disclosure, when I say “learned” I probably mean “learning”.
This process hasn’t stopped for me. I am still trying to learn flexibility, to keep learning, and that I don’t have to be the super hero in every moment.
Something to think about...
