My message today is some inspiration for everybody out there looking to really take their careers, their lives, and their whole being to the next level.
We all go through struggles and deal with hardships in life, whether through walls that we create for ourselves or external circumstances, or a combination thereof.
But what I found really, really helpful is that when we get creative about problem-solving, we can address our fears and challenges head-on. We can do this by:
- Tackling and going through it and not trying to go around it.
- Developing a mindset of openness, challenging the status quo ante, and realizing that what has been and what has got us here is not exactly what’s going to get us to the next level.
- Step out of our comfort zone a little bit and look at problems both objectively and openly.
- Working to find unique solutions that are creative, tactical, achievable, and sustainable.
I’m using a lot of those tactics right now with my partners and friends here at Great Pines, the resort that we own in the Adirondacks. We’re working on an end-of-season review of some of our wins and some of our challenges as business owners in a seasonal resort town.
Sometimes it becomes challenging in those off-seasons. For instance, we’re going to be closing for this next month, there’s just not much business to be had. It costs more money to stay open. Meanwhile, we have expenses that go out the door every day with no revenue for about five weeks.
How do you manage that and strategize to make sure that you can complete the projects needed, that you’re well funded in the offseason, that you’ve got money and working capital in escrow, and you’re able to meet your obligations and still advance the business forward?
So that’s what we’re looking at now as we address some of the challenges of running a seasonal resort and hospitality business. We’re taking a strategic approach while stepping out of our comfort zone in a number of ways.
Hopefully, as you work toward advancing your career, your business, your goals here in the fourth quarter, you are thinking about this strategically too. What are you planning for 2020, the start of a new decade? What is the next era of your life going to look like?
