Episode Transcript
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(00:10):
Welcome to The Water Troughwhere we can't make you drink,
but we will make you think.
My name is Ed Drozda, SmallBusiness Doctor, and I'm really
excited you chose to join mehere as we discuss topics that
are important for small businessfolks just like you.
If you're looking for ideas,inspiration, and possibility,
you've come to the right place.
Join us as we take steps to helpyou create the healthy business
that you've all.
Always wanted.
Ed Drozda (00:45):
Welcome back to The
Water Trough, this is Ed Drozda,
The Small Business Doctor.
Today I find myself in a placethat I've been before.
I'm a little short on ideas.
Typically I sit down to do mypodcast and things flow
spontaneously.
I don't really need much in theway of prompting, but over the
(01:06):
course of the last several days,I found myself struggling to
make content happen.
You know, the idea of this WaterTrough thing is to inspire
people to think, to give peoplethings to consider and ideally
to walk away with something ofvalue that will trigger
something in them that may nothave been triggered without
(01:27):
having heard the content inthese podcasts.
But of course when the creatorwho's trying to inspire finds
himself in a position of lackinginspiration it's kind of
difficult to imagine I'm doingthe job that I set out to do.
(01:48):
So I went back and I was lookingover some previous posts and I
came across one that I had donea while back about accepting and
moving on.
And one of the things that comesto mind about acceptance and
moving on is just this, that wefind ourselves in a position
(02:08):
where that which we expect forourselves does not occur.
That which we think comesnaturally is for at least some
point in time not available tous.
So I went back and I'm retoolingthis old podcast.
I'm playing with it, picking itapart and representing it, if
(02:34):
you will.
Now it might sound like a copout that I'm doing that because
fresh content is my goal.
But I think because I findmyself in this position, it's
important to reflect upon thatlack of creativity, that lack of
inspiration.
I'm gonna call this theself-reflection episode because
(02:55):
that's what I did when I createdit the first time, and that's
exactly what I'm bringing today.
I hope you'll find it ofinterest.
I have a feeling that just aboutanybody can relate to this at
some level.
So here we go.
For those of us who are engagedin business it's really easy to
(03:16):
fall out of line with ourexpectations.
That's just the way it is.
Things happen, things change, wehave to manage things as they
come along.
We have to keep in mind thebigger picture and where these
little events fall into placeand how they impact the bigger
(03:37):
picture.
But rather than spending timedwelling on the fact that we
haven't met the statedexpectation, it'd be best if we
can embrace the fact thatinterruptions happen, that
priorities change, that controlis not absolute, and that this
(03:59):
is okay.
Because when we are spending ourtime engaged in the failure to
meet a certain expectation we'redepriving ourselves of our
capability to functioneffectively.
It's not easy for me to do this,but I'm giving myself permission
of not meeting objectives.
(04:21):
I'm not talking about objectivesthat are paramount.
There are certain things forwhich priority is established
and there's no exception tothose things.
Whether it be the content or thetiming in which they're done.
But in many cases, I for one,find myself beating myself up
over the fact that I did notmeet a certain expectation, and
(04:44):
when I reflect upon it, Irealized that the expectation
that I had, while worthy, doesnot warrant my self pity.
I find that easy to do.
But there is something to besaid for the comfort of
acknowledging that these thingsdo happen, and rather than
(05:07):
trying to make up for it, moreimportantly, to live in the
moment and to make the most outof what's happening at that
time.
Once again, I'm not suggestingabandoning responsibility.
I'm not suggesting that it'sappropriate to simply let things
go, forgive ourselves, and say,oh, that's fine.
(05:30):
What I'm saying is that they dohappen and that because they
happen, it is appropriate, it ishelpful if we can simply accept
the fact that they happen.
We certainly can benefit fromthe fact that in accepting it
we're more apt to move onquickly and effectively.
(05:53):
This is particularly importantin business, where we have a
significant lack of control overmany factors.
Things like supply chain,employee punctuality and
performance, market factors,sales things of that sort.
And there's only so much we cando to mitigate that loss of
control.
If we were to honestly appraiseall of the things of which we
(06:13):
have no control, and if wedetermined that we've spent time
feeling poorly because of it,we're certainly going to find
ourselves being far lessproductive and effective than we
intended to be.
That is to say, we're puttingour energy in a place where it
really is not going to serve uswell.
As I look back over what I'vesaid up until now.
(06:37):
It sounds so straightforward, soeasy.
It's not rocket science.
And yet it is very difficult toaccept the fact that we don't
have control.
It's very difficult toacknowledge that our best made
plans don't always come true.
(07:01):
It's awkward to admit that wecouldn't achieve that which we
expected to.
And in this day and age, let'sface it everybody's talking
about excelling at this andsucceeding at that and being all
these amazing things.
We're setting ourselves up tobelieve that we have that
(07:21):
absolute perfection opportunity.
I'd say, practically speaking,all of us feel somewhat of a
sense of shame about what we canand cannot accomplish.
So I'm making a commitment tomyself to work on this.
(07:41):
I've thought about it oftenthroughout my life, and I know
as I did before, I'll have atough time.
But I'm going to try once againto acknowledge the fact that
things happen.
I'm going to try to embrace thenotion of living more in the
moment rather than letting theoutcome of the past dictate what
(08:05):
is going to happen next.
I encourage you to give it somethought.
Ask yourself this.
Are you finding yourself ill atease because things did not get
done?
Did you have that podcast forthe last three weeks that you
didn't get to?
Are you sitting here todayrecording it and going boy, I
(08:25):
should have done better?
I know I could have done better.
Or are you self-aware enough andappreciative enough of your
abilities and your lack ofcontrol over all things that you
can dismiss this and say, that'sfine?
And then having moved along likethat.
(08:46):
You effectively get up and goforward?
Naturally, I hope you're in thelatter camp.
And I hope that at some point Iwill be too.
I think that'll be fantastic.
A reminder that if you areinterested in being a guest on
my podcast, I would love to haveyou join me here.
My contact information isavailable in the episode notes.
(09:12):
And by all means, please, if youlike what you've heard I ask you
to share it with your colleaguesand friends.
I appreciate the informationgetting out there to people.
I do use this as a means ofgetting myself in front of
people and so your efforts on mybehalf will be greatly
(09:32):
appreciated.
In the meantime, this is EdDrozda, The Small Business
Doctor and here at The WaterTrough, I want to wish you a
healthy business.