Taking stock of where we are and where we want to go is critical for moving forward.

Although it says December on the cover, this column is being penned in November, the month where we try to ensure our clients’ needs are properly looked after by putting in long days to complete a month’s work that seems like a month and a half of normal business. As we see people fewer times today then we did 10 years ago, we try to take the time to thank each person coming through the door that has assisted with the progression of the business during the year, to make sure their experience in the shop is still one of thankful appreciation by our team.

Time alone

One other business necessity should be addressed. Towards the end of the month, or the beginning of next month when it’s starting to get back to some normalcy, consider seeking out that favourite location at home and take an hour or two to be alone, sit down and just think about your own future. Too many people don’t take the necessary “time-out alone” that’s required to assess where they personally stand right now, where they want to go, and what they must do to get there.

The people who succeed in our industry are the few who have the ambition and willpower to continuously develop themselves. With a pen and pad of paper beside you, or your tablet in taking notes mode, consider pondering the following questions:

1. Are you doing everything that you are truly capable of doing with your business? If not, what must you do over the next year to have it excel?

2. Does your business, and your function within the business, give you at least a 4-1 ratio of enjoyment to aggravation? If not, why not? What must change?

3. Is your business providing you with the type of personal challenge you enjoy? If not, why not? What must change?

4. Is your business positioning itself, and heading in the right direction, to embrace “tomorrow’s” opportunities? If not, why not? What must change?

Achievement list

Now these could be tough questions to handle, but when you answer yourself honestly, it allows the problems of the past year to surface directly to the front of your mind. The problems become crystal clear as you are now alone, quiet, relaxed, and can explicitly see the solutions you must embrace. Write those solutions down now as your “achievement list,” coupled with your personal commitment to act on them. Not to be confused with a “to do list,” which comes across as work, an “achievement list” is more rewarding as you have accomplished a new task. Now, stop focusing on what you do not have and shift your full consciousness to an appreciation for all that you do have. It’s time to take your fulfillments and energetically embrace them. Write them down. Read them back to yourself. Take this precious time to put a smile on your face, feel good about yourself for what was accomplished this year and contributions to your own well-being, your family, and your business. Well done! Now, plan to go and have some fun because the Christmas Holiday Season is almost upon us.