May 5, 2020
The Three Kings are simply three things, assets, skills, characteristics, principles, and so forth that I find important on some level. The series or feature is meant to be a short read of easily digestible information that hopefully provides some value and actionable concepts that you can apply to some aspect of your life or business.
The content is inspired and influenced by my own personal experience in life and my career as a business owner. They are three things that have helped or hindered me through my life and career. I have written many of these but I am posting this one first, out of order because of the unprecedented times we are in right now. These pieces are not necessarily meant to be sequential by any means anyway. How coincidental is it that this is number 19? Interesting.
Without further ado, here is the first, non-sequential installment of The Three Kings.
Here are the three things that keep coming up for me during this time of the Covid-19 crisis.
OPEN-MINDED:
When this crisis first hit and Idaho was advised to stay at home I was immediately consumed by fear. Optimism, trust, faith, and other things needed to make it through tough times cannot co-exist with fear. When fear takes over the others are absent. I have experienced this over and over in my life and thought that I had learned my lesson, but apparently I have more to learn. I’ll give myself a break as this is an unprecedented situation
Regardless, I have found that I have to be open to new ideas and different ways to run my business. If I choose to stay in fear and let it dictate my thoughts and actions I will be very unproductive and negative. There is no room for a solution without an open mind. For example, at the pie shop, we had to be open to a new way of doing business because the old way was no longer an option. We lost all of our dine-in lunch service which is a significant part of our revenue. We quickly began offering takeout and delivery of course, but we also began focusing on dinner by creating meal packages centering on our savory pies. That has saved us.
PRESENT:
Problems only exist in the present and solutions only work in the present. Of course problems can last for a long time and solutions can and should be created and implemented to address the future, but that is always unknown. Solutions can only be created and implemented today so that is where I must focus the majority of my efforts. Future tripping only perpetuates a state of fear so I try to practice being present as much as possible.
PATIENT:
If you know me or have read any of my content I am sure you know I am a naturally impatient person. I love instant gratification. Fortunately, I have learned that instant gratification is often short-lived. Real progress and sustainable growth takes time as does working through a crisis. The strategy to navigate through the current crisis does not instantly cure all the negative effects, it takes time.
Our dinner strategy we created for the pie shop took time to create and execute and it took time to start yielding results. It is currently keeping our doors open and for that I am grateful, but I do not know what the future holds. I am sure that a crisis like this will have some long term effects so we will have to practice all three of today’s kings today in the present to prepare for the unknown that lies ahead.
Talk Soon,
Kevin W @LEAP272
Owner-Operator
You have to leap if you want to live
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