Blue Skies Are Back!
Well, in case you’re wondering about how Boulder and surrounding areas are doing with the amazing rains and flooding, our clear blue skies came back yesterday and I and my family are fine. However as a community, Boulder and Boulder County have seen phenomenal devastation.
One of my best friends, 86 years old, has lived here all his life said he has never seen anything like it.
I know firsthand of friends who cannot return home, tiny towns wiped out, and a whole neighborhood – in fact the one in the mountains where I raised my kids – completely cut off due the only road in being washed away by a raging stream.
I won’t go into detail at this point out of respect for families involved, but two teenage kids of former neighbors of mine lost their lives in a flood related catastrophe.
Looking for a place to contribute or assist? Here are a few good sites per Boulder Chamber of Commerce and Boulder Independent Business Association:
A little personal history here, then back to business in a moment…
Having built and grown quite fond of our home in the mountains, I started realizing after a while – late-budding maturity perhaps – about some of the hassles, and downright hazards of living in a steep mountainside community.
We’d built a wonderful home on a steep slope – The views were magnificent, and the house really was a lot of fun to live in.
Then one day, an upslope boulder the size of a suitcase whizzed past our deck, missing the house by mere inches, slicing through tree limbs and everything else in its way like butter.
I knew we had to move. But deciding to get out was tough. The kids had grown up there, we’d built that house from scratch and it was, well – home.
My family just couldn’t even grasp the idea of moving, looked at me like I was crazy for talking about it. But to make a very long story short, finally in 2010, move out we did.
And though I feel for the folks still there, today we’re all glad we made the move.
If you’ve ever faced a tough decision that people around you don’t understand, I don’t know about you, but it’s one of the loneliest feelings.
When you’re leading a business, you need to constantly be on the lookout for opportunities – and threats – even when no one else can see them. Then, of course, it’s often up to you to ‘head ’em up and move ’em out’, even if it runs against the ‘status quo’.
So how do you do that?
Hey, I’d love to get your thoughts on this. Best I can figure is, you assess the situation as accurately as possible. You think past emotion and embrace facts.
Once you have the clearest picture you can get, it’s time to go with your gut. Regardless of what colleagues, friends or family say or do.
With a little luck, every so often you’ll get one right. And the more you take positive action when warranted, the more chances you have to get it right.
Of course, if you’re smart, you get a little wiser each time. Pain is not your first choice as teacher.
My observation of successful people is it’s this simple math – making lots of decisions, then course-correcting the inevitable mistakes, and perhaps growing a bit wiser each time – that leads to success.
Would you like help with this?
Schedule a free business success coaching session: