“The more flexible we become in our thinking and being, the more we open ourselves to self-awareness & growth.” — James Van Praagh
When I first began selling sheds 27 years ago, I always put value in longevity and being able to survive and thrive for many years in building my shed business.
It was always my intention to become a “pro” in the shed industry.
Today, that goal is still the same as I strive to get better daily and be better than I was the day before. I learned early on that I had to stick and stay to earn my pay, and that I had better learn to stretch my vision (like you would stretch a rubber band) if I was to rise above and become bigger than any problems that would come my way.
What can we learn from a rubber band? A rubber band has no value unless it is stretched. When you stretch a rubber band it is supposed to hold things together. Otherwise, it is worthless.
In order to work through challenges, add value to others, or help hold together a business, marriage, friendships, etc., we must stretch ourselves. This applies to everyone regardless of where you are born, how much money you have, or how smart you are.
In order to stretch, you must personally develop, read and listen to nourishing words and try to be better than you were yesterday. We “stretch” to improve ourselves so we can maximize our lives and help serve others.
I can freely admit that before I learned to stretch through personal development, I would let what I now consider small challenges knock me off course.
For example, I recall working on a substantial shed sale that ended up falling apart. I spent what seemed like two months of my time working on the deal. I went to the customer’s home to measure, had countless phone calls to tweak the design, and finally got the order (or so I thought).
I got a call from my customer with the bad news that he had to cancel the order due to a crazy zoning situation with his property. I remember at the time feeling so disappointed that I allowed the negativity to overwhelm me.
As time went on, I learned to be flexible and “stretch” through those types of challenges by engaging in daily personal development.
The bottom line is that if you want to grow and expand in order to make significant changes in your life, but feel that you are not gaining any ground, you really need to make significant changes in your strategy/philosophy in how you approach challenges.
Once again, are you going to stretch like a rubber band so you can deal with the challenges of the future?
I used to be a firm believer that working harder would bring about good results. But if your strategy/philosophy is not on target, you end up riding the hamster wheel.
Before you decide to tackle any problems or go after some serious results in your life, make sure that how you are approaching these changes/challenges will actually produce the results that you are looking for.
I encourage you to seek guidance or mentorship so you can stretch enough to stay off the hamster wheel and keep doing the same things over and over. The biggest risk to being productive is always the same—working on the wrong thing.
Your staying power in the shed industry will largely depend on your ability to stretch and grow along the way.
I encourage you to personally develop daily by reading good books, listening to audio, and attending workshops and conventions when possible. Keep stretching, but don’t break.
