For anyone wondering why a guy who does the type of consulting that I do (career and small business) is writing and quoting the thoughts, words, and works of a woman whose blog is about “survival” allow me to explain…the reasons are two-fold:
- It’s been taught to me by teachers and coaches of mine that not considering the thoughts, mindsets, and perspectives of people outside of my sphere is pretty much assinine (and I don’t aspire to be that guy!)
- I find the work of Daisy Luther (author/owner of the Organic Prepper blog) both well-reasoned and well-written
While this particular post of mine is not necessarily alluding to the type of “crisis” Daisy’s writing about the overarching thought of ACCEPTANCE is highly valuable.
She writes: “The secret to surviving any crisis is very simple: it’s acceptance. No, I’m not telling you to just sit down and await your doom. I’m talking about accepting that something bad has happened so that you can move forward and take the required actions to save yourself.”
BINGO!
What Daisy is mostly alluding to in her most recent piece are the King fires (El Dorado County, CA – 2014) but I found her thinking incredibly applicable to how many people whose paths cross with mines think about their careers or business…
The more time you spend denying that this – whatever “this” is – could ever happen to you, happen in your hometown, or occur at all, the less time you have to take definitive action. In fact, your willingness to accept that disaster could strike before it ever does puts you even further ahead, because you’ll be ready for immediate action without wasting valuable time wrapping your brain around it.”
Well, let me apply this wisdom to anyone who cares to read my drivel by echoing the above…
You can’t take actions that could save your career, business (or a relationship for that matter) until you’ve accepted the fact that something bad enough has happened that those actions need be taken.
Life, careers and business guarantee ZERO.
I’ve been providing career consulting for more than 40 years and am always shocked by those who speak of job security…all the while NOT ACCEPTING the fact that their employment is “at-will”.
(My time spent consulting with small-business owners is less than 40 years but long enough to have learned that the mindset of most of them is rooted in “what was” vs. “what is”)
Those who know me well know that I’m hardly the type of person to be sitting around writing about gloom and doom. The whole “sky is falling…Chicken Little” is not the way I’d care to live my life, however, considering Daisy’s thinking…having a willingness to accept “what is” and/or what is entirely plausible in your life/business/career absolutely puts you far ahead of the rest of the world with your actions and solutions.
In the meantime….
Let’s call this song exactly what it is
(What it is, what it is, what it is)