New

Recently I was invited to a dear friends’ house for dinner.  Also joining us was a young couple and their three year old daughter (Trudy), who had recently moved into the neighborhood.  The three year old reminded me of some very important lessons I can apply to my business today.  Here are the lessons I took away from the experience.

Lesson 1:  “New” starts with shy.  Similar to the three year old, when I meet new people or find myself in a new situation I hold back a bit until I take stock of the situation.  While some fall on different parts of this spectrum – extreme extrovert barreling ahead to those who completely withdraw and don’t put themselves in any new situation – holding back a little, assessing the atmosphere, understanding who the people are and the dynamics, can prevent a mis-step.

Lesson 2:  Open up when you’re comfortable.  It didn’t take long for our little three year old friend to start interacting with those around her.  Let your personality shine through.  People can sense when others aren’t authentic.  Start building your relationships through your interest in others and sharing who you are.

Lesson 3:  Get creative.  While the adults at the dinner were talking over some extraordinary wine (Fowles Wine), Trudy was enjoying some sparkling pomegranate juice.  She had also been offered orange juice.  Partway through our pre-dinner chat, she asked to have some orange juice and mixed it with the other juice.  She stirred and sipped, stirred and sipped – deciding it was a winning combination.  When was the last time you tried something new, different and out of the ordinary?  I wonder what would happen if we all tapped into our inner three year old and created something each day – who knows what could happen?

Lesson 4:  Play on.  After dinner the adults continued to chat and Trudy sat down at the piano with her father and played.  We asked her what she was playing and she said she had created the song.  There was no hesitation, inhibition or self-consciousness about her – which made me wonder, when do we lose that freedom to be ourselves around others?  It was a great reminder that I can hold myself back when I’m thinking “what will others think?”  Most of the time others don’t think about what you are doing, so play on….

Lesson 5:  Take a bow.  When we clapped at Trudy’s performance, she took a bow and smiled.  This reminded me to accept praise the way it was intended, no explanations are necessary, no denials, no words except – thank you or take a bow.  Accepting praise gracefully compliments the person offering the praise.

Lesson 6:  New.  Looking at life through the eyes of a child allows us to see everything as new.  When things are new we’re not putting filters on.  We’re able to see all the vivid details of a situation.  We can find opportunities others can’t see, approach ideas in a new way and use our creativity that has been otherwise stifled.  Creating limitless possibilities opens doors that otherwise don’t exist.  Thank you Trudy for the reminder!

What do you do to remove your filters and barriers?  What do you do to create newness in your life?  How are you inspired?  Leave your comments below.

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