Sometimes You Just Need to Break
|
|
Right now (Tuesday AM) my step-mom is on the operating table. She’s having surgery on her carotid artery that is 70% blocked. She had a stroke on New Year’s Day and I have to tell you, it all just sucks right now. I don’t know how she will pull through, what life will be like after the surgery, and how successfully it will be. I am hoping and praying all will be well.
There are no guarantees in life.
When I had my back surgery just over tern years ago, my doctor said he thinks I would make a full recovery. Ten years later, I still have no feeling in my left calf. Sometimes nerves just don’t recover.
That’s life, and we have to be OK with that.
I run a growing business. We are taking on more and more clients every week and getting better with every one (that’s how it should be, right). Well, how can I take a break for almost a week, while I have clients that are demanding my attention? Simple: my clients get me and they get life; that’s authenticity. They understand that life happens and that sometimes you just need to break and focus on the things that matter.
My dad is at a loss right now. The INC man cannot tell me what’s on tap tomorrow, so I am here for him today. My stepmom who is a logistical wizard does not know what is coming and when, so I am here for her today.
This is life, and I have to be OK with that.
I love my clients. I love my work. I appreciate the fact that I get to help shape stories for dozens of top-shelf clients every month and help affect change on a grand scale, influencing thousands every year. I am in my zone, but I am breaking.
- I cannot control my health, but I can exercise.
- I cannot control the weather, but I can open my weather app.
- I cannot control my clients breaking their site, but I can train them as best as possible.
All these scenarios are out of my control, but I do influence each one of them. Choosing to do life and work with certain clients and either not accepting projects from people and organizations that just don’t fit or firing those who just don’t get it, is all a part of life.
I choose my clients and my clients choose me. Perhaps this is the most comforting part of this whole process. As my stepmom goes into surgery and out into recovery and into what will undoubtedly be a long road to recovery, I have amazing clients who get life, get me, and get to work as it allows. That’s rad (yes, I just said rad; deal with it).
This is life, and my clients are OK with that.
As I break, I am understanding that the word of mouth clients I have all have me too. They chose me, not just because I kick serious butt, but because they know in all circumstances, I have resolved to show up for them in the ways that only I can.
The times where you could pick an agency to lead your project and have no direct communication or relationship with are dead. The time for living and working authentically is here. I am for my clients and my clients are for me. They are texting me right now to find out how my stepmom is doing. They are emailing daily to see if they can do anything. They are messaging me on Slack, Facebook, and Twitter to let me know they understand my circumstance that they are praying alongside me.
I love that I get to do what I love with people who love what I do. Life is better that way, especially when things get rough and you don’t know what tomorrow will bring. My challenge to you is this: find the kind of clients you want to be in the foxhole with, and do everything you can to stay by their side. Choose them today. After all, they chose you.