Timing

The other day a friend of mine with grown teenage children said “you spent years asking your kids to please sit down while having dinner and then all of a sudden one day..they just sit.” As a mother you learn that some of the things you are teaching your child over and over again might one day happen. You are struggling as a breastfeeding mother to have your baby latch on to the breast, guiding the rooting mouth searching for food, being patient with your cracked and sore nipples in pain, trying and trying until it finally happens; or you are helping your first grader learn how to put all the letters together correctly to form the words and then sentences and then read…like a code that just at the right moment clicks and a world opens full of new possibilities.

I feel that this patience, persistence and unyielding faith that it will happen at the right time is also critical when building a business. Like blocks you build by doing and keep doing while believing that what you are aiming for will happen when the time is right! What I have learned from being a mother and a business owner is that you don’t always know how long it will take to reach your goal, that every project has its own time depending on many factors, but if you keep at it, time might pull it all together like a puzzle, a new stepping stone to the next challenge and level of development. The puzzle may reflect practical sequences like your child can not run before he walks or you can’t sell a product before you have production and material to promote. There are things you only have some control over, for instance, when will the economy allow customers to purchase more or when have you learned enough to realize the breastfeeding act or the new marketing strategy is actually working.

One thing I have experienced in both professional and personal matters is that there are no shortcuts to anywhere worth going. The most rewarding feeling is to watch your child trying to manage riding the bike, after many times of wobbling on the seat maintaining balance - running after her scared of every little fall and pretending that everything is going sooo fine and then one day she rushes by me perfectly balanced with her long ponytail flying out underneath the helmet. I find it similar to having an idea of a product and then going through the process of making it just how you have visioned it down to the last detail, and then hearing the positive energy from a very happy mom that just purchased it from a local store or from this website. Being a mother and a business owner is about enjoying the ride, aiming for goals, being present, listening, not giving up, being there and again doing the best you can, knowing that your hard work will show through just at the right time!