The Meaning of Life – Or What’s Important

Had a really interesting year this month. (At least it feels like it was a year). I learned a lot of things about myself, my business and about life choices in general.

Written Jul 19, 2009, read 108 times since then.

Had a really interesting year last month. (At least it feels like it was a year). I learned a lot of things about myself and about life choices in general.

I got a call the beginning of June from my only daughter who lives in Portland, Oregon. She was ill and needed me. That in itself sent me down to her side. She didn’t think it was important to tell me HOW ill she was and within minutes of my arriving at her apartment, we were en route to the Emergency Room.

Four days later, she was released from the hospital, very weak and unable to take care of herself so we drove home where I could watch over her for two weeks while she began to get her strength back.

In the middle of all of this chaos, I was trying to run my solopreneur businesses, plan my move to Portland, make connections I had scheduled and, in general, just keep my business going. I learned a very big lesson, too.

When my focus shifted away from the business, it slowed to a crawl. It wasn’t that things went wrong, it just had been DeBorah-powered and ran out of gas when my attention turned to my beloved daughter instead of it. This was not a good thing. Through my other site, I teach solopreneurs to automate repetitive tasks, outsource administrative and marketing duties unless they’re REALLY good at it and I hadn’t been doing it myself. So, I recognized an opportunity for myself and others.

By the way, my daughter is doing well and is continuing to recover. It will be quite a while, but she’s a little stronger every day.

So, what I’ve come up with is a deeper understanding of what needs to be done as far as passive processes, automated processes and a slightly different focus in what I’m doing and offering to the marketplace.

So, here goes: (By the way – this is the first time I’m sharing this and I wanted to share it with all of you!)

It’s time to automate some of the repetitive tasks the way I coach folks to do in my business, Created Life Strategies. I don’t know why, but it just didn’t occur to me to do it on the Created Life side.

If I’m going to have the kind of lifestyle where I can leave everything to do something that’s important, I cannot risk that things will roll to a stop. I can no longer afford any hesitations or speedbumps if I’m going to realize my goals.

I’m creating a vision board to keep me focused, too.

I’ll keep all of you posted on my progress. Truly, I’m just one of you with triumphs and setbacks and daily frustrations. As I’ve said previously, living a created life is not easy, it takes guts, determination and stubborness. But if you want that life to be full of power, passion and possibility, you need to be committed to the end result so you can blow through all the “stuff” that comes up

Learn more about the author, DeBorah Beatty.

Comment on this article

Posted by josh davis, Vancouver, Washington | Sep 19, 2009

"committed to the end result so you can blow through all the Stuff." Love this line, so true you learn about Real commitment on your way to success. Thanks for the great post!
Posted by Rusty Lee, Battle Ground, Washington | Sep 19, 2009

Thanks DeBorah!

There's nothing like a personal story from the heart to help us understand a lesson like this!!

A great reminder to all of us---We need to work On our business--not In our business.

Have a Great Day, Rusty Lee http://CallMyPcDr.com
Posted by Rick Itzkowich, La Jolla, California | Sep 19, 2009

Deborah,

Glad to hear your daughter is doing better. Working on your business vs in your business is the toughest thing to apply when you are a solopreneur or small business owner. In fact I do a monthly teleseminar called "5 Deadly Mistakes to Avoid in This Economic Climate" and what you are describing in your article is one of those mistakes. Good luck in your journey going forward and appreciate you sharing your thoughts with us.
Posted by Judy Dunn, Seattle, Washington | Sep 19, 2009

Deborah,

Thanks for the invitation to read your article. What strikes me here is sometimes the advice we give others is the hardest to take in the context of our own lives.

We are strong (in my case, stubborn?) solopreneurs (doesn't the "solo" part of it say it all?) and we can do everything ourselves, right? This is a gentle reminder to not carry all the burden of our businesses and to reach out for help when we need it.

Best wishes for your daughter's speedy recovery.

Web Copywriter & Blogger
Posted by Kate Phillips, Carnation, Seattle, Washington | Sep 21, 2009

DeBorah, wow, I can so relate! I got two calls this year to inform me my father was in the hospital in Denver. The first time, in May, he was well on his way to being out.

The second time, in July, he was in critical condition, and they did not even know how to get ahold of his family at first. He was too sick, weak and confused to tell them (and looking at his records from the previous time didn't occur to them, but that's another story.) And like your daughter, my father does not ask for help until it is very late in the game (nearly too late).

I traveled to Denver in July until he was released from the hospital into a nursing/rehab center. It was the beginning of many changes, as he will not be returning to independent living, and as my brother and I have had to take over most of his affairs.

On the way home on the plane, realizing all that lay ahead, I thought, "Why do I not have information products earning me a passive income!?" I have always taught "multiple streams of income," and having at least one of those streams being residual and passive income (licensing, information products, music cd's, joint ventures, etc) and until recently, my real estate investing was a mostly passive lucrative side-business for several years.

But here in 2009, with my coaching and music businesses less established (and my real estate investments more burden than benefit), it hit me like a ton of bricks just how dependent my current businesses are on ME to physically work IN them right now.

At the moment, there are emergencies to attend to. But following surgeries and relocations and other matters, next on my priority list is developing information products and a higher degree of systematization.

SO glad to hear your daughter is doing better. Sometimes dropping everything to be there for someone else is what "family" is all about. You can earn more money later, but there are moments you can't miss to make a difference for someone you care about. But you are spot on, there is no reason that you can't have a business that supports you in doing that.

Thanks for sharing,
Kate

Practical Prosperity and Financial Healing
Posted by Tshombe Brown, Portland, Oregon | Sep 21, 2009

DeBorah,

I love that you told your story and the great take-aways from the experience.

We want to OWN our businesses, not have them own us.

May we all look at where we may be valuing holding onto control or Ego more than the freedom to be there for loved ones (and even take a vacation!) that outsourcing and systematizing affords.

Or maybe I should speak for myself :-)

Sales Success Tele-Interview Series 2009