Spring is an amazing time of year – a chance to make a fresh start and for new beginnings. It’s also when our local community celebrates the ‘Carnival of Flowers.’ People travel from across the country (and the world) to see the wondrous gardens that are a sea of beauty and colour that is full of imagination, growth and delight.
With the severe drought that we have been experiencing, I have let our garden go by the wayside. But having been inspired by beauty of the flowers that I saw in Toowoomba, I decided it was time to inject some colour, energy and life into my own garden at home.
My garden was so dry, that the soil was actually cracked. The existing plants were beaten and weathered from the sun. There were weeds and dead leaves scattered throughout.
I realised that in order for my vision of a blooming, colourful, thriving garden – I needed to nurture the foundation of which my garden would sustainably grow. Without a healthy, solid foundation I was wasting my time, energy, effort and money.
I toiled the earth and placed new soil and mulch into the garden. I planted the seedlings and added some super dooper plant food/fertilser and then watered them.
Feel Empowered and Inspired
to Make Your Mark in the
World and Reach Your
Full Potential…
And it got me thinking…. if we want to fully bloom in our business, career and life – is it really that different to a garden? I believe that our identity sets the foundation to success.
Maya Angelou once said that, “Success is liking yourself, liking what you do, and liking how you do it.” Maya was an acclaimed American poet, storyteller, activist, and autobiographer and was Hollywood’s first female black director. She became most famous as a writer, editor, essayist, playwright, and poet. She was obviously confident in knowing who she was, liked who she was and enjoyed what she did to go forth and accomplish so much in her lifetime.
Do you have a strong identity to set a solid foundation for your success?
Harvard Business Review states that companies with a strong identity — the kind that is backed up by the ability to deliver their promise — tend to win. In a recent survey of 720 executives, companies that were seen as having a stronger identity outperformed others by 25% (in terms of average annual TSR between 2010 and 2013).
I reckon in a world where businesses need to be agile and move quickly, you simply can’t afford to allow the cracks to appear in your foundation. You need to be so connected and aware of the needs of your employees, customers and clients and that can be achieved through open and honest communication, nourishing their needs, celebrating collective achievements and having the ability to take on and respond to feedback.
There’s a lot of ‘copy and paste,’ behaviour that occurs today and it’s because people and businesses don’t take the time to discover what is that makes them unique and understanding their own story. They think it’s easier to be under the guise of someone else, trying to impersonate and emanate their essence.
It’s imperative that there is clarity around who you truly are and what it is that makes you unique. You need to actually like yourself, your quirks, flaws and your experiences because that is what set you apart from competitors and all the ‘sameness’ that is in the world. Being confident in your identity, in all that you are, is the secret weapon in being able to flourish as a flower amongst a bunch of weeds.
You need to actually like and enjoy what it is that you do in our business, career and life as this creates the energy and vibe that becomes infectious that attracts and retains quality employees and also resonates to your customers, clients and market.
Having the courage to step up and to step out – to let your voice be heard and by bringing authenticity and realness comes with being comfortable with your identity. It allows you to be confident in delivering results for not only your business, clients, employees but also for yourself.
By having a strong identity, you are able to be more resistant, resilient and sustain business growth when the droughts, storms and pests ensure.
What strategy do you have in place to ensure that what you do – in time – will fully bloom?
If we check back in with ourselves on a regular basis to get the ‘basics,’ rights then it allows for a solid foundation to continue the growth of your business and career.
I reckon to do this, we need to:
- Get Clarity by taking some time to stop and reflect by asking yourself the questions:
Who am I, what is that I want to do, am I living my best life? What is holding me back? What are my fears? Are they valid fears? What is that I enjoy? How often do I get to do this?
- Start nourishing your mind and body with the basics – such as eating good, clean, healthy food. Drinking plenty of fresh filtered water, moving your body through exercise (by whatever means is enjoyable) and getting quality sleep.
- Make yourself a Priority. Be sure that you take the time to do some activities that bring you joy. Quite often these are the first things that get thrown by the way side when life gets busy and tough. It’s so important for your sense-of-self to dedicate time each week (or possibly everyday) to have a hobby that allows you to switch off, removes the busy-ness and connects you back into yourself.
- Practicing Gratitude, Mindfulness and Meditation are like the ‘super foods’ for your garden. By introducing these into your daily routine, (they don’t need to take long), you will most certainly notice the benefits that they provide in all that you do in your business, career and life, generally making you feel more grounded and balanced.
- Remove what is not serving you for your best and highest good. You know who or what these things are…they are what drain you of your energy and continue to ‘take and take’ from you but never give anything in return. If it’s not as simple as simply cutting them from your life, slowly start to distance yourself and put some boundaries in place to protect yourself and your energy.
- The benefits of some fresh air and sunshine every day should never be underestimated. Take the time to go outside, close your eyes, take some deep, meaningful breathes to slow down your heart rate, and just feel the warmth of the sun on your face, the feel of the breeze on your skin. Again, it’s about connecting back into yourself and just allowing yourself some space to ‘just be.’
- Adopt a Routine & Discipline by repeating the above steps each and every day. You need to keep toiling the soil, adding fertiliser, removing weeds and watering your garden each day in order for your foundation to remain strong and for it to grow and blossom.
- Keep checking back in with yourself and asking yourself how you’re going so that your sense of self – your Identity remains strong and continues to be the foundation to your success in business, career and life.
I’d love to hear your thoughts on what creates your foundation to success in your business, career and life!
