Back on track.

Where am I now in regards to business?   I’d say though behind we are still full steam ahead.  Right now we are in the process of re-branding and designing a logo.   We have the new mission statements for both the nonprofit and the healing center.  We have been rearranging and rethinking our room rental strategy to utilize the space to increase income and we have finally started implementation of Mind Body software and will begin training our therapists how to schedule.  We plan to be fully up and running with the software by July 1^st.  I have a partner as of now who is helping to interview people of all modalities to form a core group of like-minded practitioners and we have started to use a interoffice program to keep us on track as far as tasks are needed.   I have also hired a personal assistant to assist me in the details of my day to day to keep my head above water.  I feel that we have left the planning stage and ready for birth of this new business concept.  I feel clearer as to the overall goal and design of One Source Healing Center.  

Abundance

Over the last few months, one thing has become increasingly clear.  I have come to realize that I have zero control of the future and this has lead me to see that there is no block to abundance.  I would have never see the correlation but nevertheless, for me it was directly linked.

A numbers game...People

One concept that I am learning about overall in business is that finding good people is a continuous feat. In the service industry we are constantly hiring and it is a numbers game.  In creating business, I have learned that this is the flow and what I am really looking for is the flow of the right people.  You can not teach people to be responsible and working with responsible people is much easier than working with someone who has been in the trade for years sometimes.  Responsibility and integrity go hand in hand.  

Being an entrepreneur is problem solving and being in the service industry is hiring & firing. Eventually if you do it long enough, you build a good team but it is always changing.  

I am learning so much about building foundations and if the foundation is strong then putting people in the mix can be much easier and not so overwhelming.  The next position I hire for is a personal assistant, someone to do my to-do lists.  They wont need to understand my business, but only to understand me.  Goal date... August. 

May- Planting Seeds & setting boundaries

According to My happiness project, In May I was to focus on self-care.  My goals were to get a holistic treatment each week, get to sleep earlier and to create a space for myself and to go there.  Just by default, it is already working out great.  In our new home, my bedroom is my retreat.  I bought a new bed and dresser with two end tables.  I purchased two because of feng shui I wanted to draw in the energy of a new happy and healthy relationship.  By creating this space for myself, I have never slept so well.   I am trying to get to sleep earlier or at least into bed earlier so I would say I am on track there.  I had a massage last week and I will be getting one Wednesday too.  I have been much more aware of the foods that make me feel good and walking the dog at least 3-4 days a week.  I want the 40's to be the best years of my life, and I think they look pretty good on me.  

In business, I took a couple of weeks off to let my new managers step in.  They are doing such a good job and it feels great to know that the daily tasks are getting taken care of, but also the foundation has become much stronger.  However I did find that I can not just step away, these are my businesses and I need to be present.  This month we are getting our computer program up and running and laying out the details according to my vision.  The new mission statement has been written and we have decided to re brand the holistic center which is needed.  

Probably the biggest advance for me has been setting boundaries.  To be honest, this was not easy for me.  I am a little bit of a push over until I am not anymore and this is where the problem lies as when I draw the line there is nothing tactful about it.  I am working on setting compassionate boundaries as Daphne had pointed out because most of the time I just blurt it out, due to built up emotions.  To be unclear is to be unkind, is the quote I have in my office.  

The gifts from my mother

Last week at CBC, we were asked to reflect on our moms and offer up the best advice that they gave us growing up to help in our businesses.  As we went around the room, I had a chance to ponder what it was that I learned growing up.  First and foremost, I learned to work hard.  I am not sure this was ever spoken, however this I witnessed.  My parents were modest people who loved to travel, worked hard and provided for their family without question.  I also learned sacrifice and only as an adult did I really see the sacrifice of my mother. I saw how she kept our family together selflessly as she hoped for our futures to be bright even if it didn't allow for her to flower.  In that sacrifice, she also taught me that I was equal to any man in business or in life.  This may have been the greatest gift which show up for me in independence.  It also allowed me to always move forward with out blocks of seeing too many lines of separation.  She taught me that people are basically good and to trust.  I learned the value of looking into the eyes of another as I shake hands and to honor my word.

Sometimes as we go through the ups and downs in life it is not always easy to be in gratitude for all that I have been given and the incredible start that I had in life, but as I reflect and take this time to honor my mother I realize if I am going to show up in life, I should show up for her.  

Full Moon

I am inspired tonight after a week of long walks with my dog, a full moon, the smell of fresh blooms & bbq's and a week of crazy emotions.  Sure everything is in balance right?  This week I was not as excited and fulfilled as I had been.   I can not explain it but somehow I could not bring in my joy fully.  Of course these are the ups and downs of life.
All is well on the business front.  Cleaning business is thriving, growing and my partner has it under control, so thankful that we have turned a corner.    Pathways is getting organized and this week I implemented a Friday lunch with my crew, so that we could check in weekly to maker sure that we are all cohesive in our branding and vibrational message.  Monday meetings are in full swing as we continue to plan for the non profit roll out.  Yes, we were on track, however this week I have been down in the dumps.  I tried everything to come out of this, I took my friend to Boulder to have lunch and see an Apothecary that I would love to model ours after, I walked each night, howled at the moon and even played my music so loud that my soul would move, but each day was unfulfilled.  It was not until tonight where I finally found peace.  I hate having such little control of my emotions.  I tried everything but then on a side note, I gave up bread and most dairy this week too.   Damn life is so confusing... could it be as simple as that?  How about love?  I am also misplaced by my heart longing for love and peace.  Old emotions from the past rolled in and tried to take over, just thankful for the fortunate gift of consciousness and the fact that I do not ever go backwards in life.
What really is this blog about?  Maybe this is the epitome of finding happiness in the weeds, because this week I tried and worked to change my confusion to happiness consciously and no matter what I told myself, I could not move through the emotions.
So funny, I was watching wheel of fortune with my father this week and thought, damn Pat Sajak is always happy.  That is his job! Well it is my job too, as I cant be a leader if I am too caught up in my own emotions for days at a time.   What I found is that I can not always control the downs no matter how hard I try, you just have to wait for that divine timing and be open to the lessons that are presenting themselves.  I know the lesson that I had to learn this week, I was faced with a choice. Patients or self-sabotage.  As much as I yearned to sabotage myself, I still allowed myself to emit flaws in public but at the same time I was aware and allowed myself the space to move through the emotions.  This was a fucking hard week, but I nailed it...kind of.  And if I didn't, there is always next month.

Stepping into new roles and opening up to new possibilities

The goal for this week was to complete training of my amazing team.  In all of my businesses and at the same time a powerful woman rose to the occasion and stepped into management.  Daphne is now the Business manager of Pathways Holistic Center,  Mari is head of marketing, Teresa has become the Apothecary manager and Anna has brilliantly stepped into partner/manager of One Source Cleaning.   What I thought was going to be a chaotic week where I would be pulled in so many directions, I was taken by complete surprise.  By Thursday these women had full control and responsibility of their place in our business and for the first time I found myself at one desk, behind one computer working on all of the things that I have had to put off.  I can not believe I had attempted to do all of this work myself.  

So Today, as I ponder what to write about, I felt a celebration was in order. Whew, I kept all of that above water for 15 months and managed not to drown in the process but there is no doubt how close I came to that.  Today just for a moment while swamped in the day to day tasks of paying bills, to-do's, emails and phone calls, I celebrated that process of where I was, who I was and who I have become.  I embraced the fact that every bit of control in my life has vanished and a clean slate was born.  It may have been 15 months, but today I saw the first breath of life into those businesses. This week I let go and as my hand unwrapped from the strings to the unknown, I witnessed something taking flight.  

I think I will settle in nicely as the owner/visionary of my businesses.  I realized by letting go, I could accomplish so much more.  With gratitude for my new team I can see abundance, process and form.  My next quest will be to design a system for the accounting and then move on toward creating my biggest vision yet, Touchstone Natural Healing Corporation which is our non-profit. The difference between who I was 15 months ago and who I am today was the realization that thoughts do create reality, the idea that controlling the future is pointless and that love, integrity and authenticity are the keys to abundance & success.