Details matter, but don’t sweat them.

I have always been a big believer in the details in life. The ones that make the everyday interesting. The small inspirational wonders that can instantly turn the everyday grey “blah” into a smile for a minute. Especially if unexpected. Like today, when I received an RSVP from my son’s birthday party from his friend’s dad and the signature was “Don't Dream it, Be it!!”
He seems like an otherwise serious kind of guy which made it even more fun and surprising!
I also pay great attention to details in my area of our business. We design the products with the intention of finding the best little details that separate us in the market in our category. I also try to read most of the requests that come into the company from our mom’s and store’s and in regards to marketing, every graphic piece that we create commands my full attention down to the last detail.
But, there is a balance. The trick I have found, is to pick the details that really matter and cut loose the ones that do more harm than good. In a business you can easily get stuck on a detail that is demotivating just as readily as one that is motivating. It takes practice to decide what is important to let it go. It is important to take a single unhappy customer’s voice serious, but you can’t let it affect your whole day, because then you won’t have the energy to deal with all of the happy ones. It is the same with our children.. This morning when I drove my kids to school we were talking about their lunches. My little one said “I remember those stale goldfish you once gave me” and my daughter replied “yes and the carrots that were filled with carrot juice in the bag…yuk” and they went on and on…I became a little sad because I feel that I pay a lot of attention to their lunches and even though it is 6am (and even dark outside at this moment) when I prepare the lunches, I pour a little invisible love into each of them. So I said “do you not like the lunches that mommy makes you?” and they both said “yes we love them, it has just been a few times”… So yes, nobody is perfect, but by trying your best to pay attention to the details that do matter, and remembering not to sweat the ones that don’t, the bigger picture eventually becomes a reflection of your successful focus … on the one’s that count.