Looking at the calendar takes me back to 3 years ago when I walked away from being part of someone else’s organization and created my own. These 3 years zipped by so fast. I took time in January to think about what I have learned so far about having my own coaching and consulting practice, and most importantly, myself. I thought it would be a list of ten—then it went to a list of 15—now the list is almost up to 20. There were many things that people told me and I ignored, some I heeded, some I wish someone had told me, and some I discovered along the way.

Plant Bulbs–Lots of them

Over the last three years I’ve spent a lot of time on and in my gardens. My dream is to have lots of color and variety throughout most of the year. The last two falls, I planted bulbs –lots of them. A few weeks ago, I was wandering through my garden areas looking at what was blooming, starting to pop out of the ground, and the bare areas even though I was sure I planted something there. It occurred to me how much this garden work and planting was very similar to creating and developing my business.

The Loose Condition of Our Connections

There are many thoughts and theories about the impact of the social isolation many of us faced.  I am sure we all have our stories or experiences of how things have changed in our interactions with each other.  In that first year, it made sense we had to use different ways of communicating and interacting.  Most of that first year was spent on just trying to get through one day at a time and relying on the virtual world and social distance strategies to do all the things we routinely did in close connection with others.  The second year seemed a lot like the first year.