Are you in the people business? Do you know who your people are? Do you care about them? Are you interested in them? Do you want a connection with them? I hope the answer is yes. Whether in business or personal relationships, people matter. If you are in the people business, your primary reason is to serve them and develop a connection and rapport with them. YOU and your product are secondary. You will find when the attention is on others rather than you or your product, you will enjoy your job and relationships more and chances are be more successful in the process.

This month often times gets a “bad rap”…it’s a gloomy month, we’ve experience a lot of storms this month, it’s closing in on the end of winter, and we are anticipating spring. But, there is a lot to celebrate this month…Black History Month, Ground Hogs Day, Super Bowl, Valentines Day, President’s Day, Fat Tuesday, Lent and a lot of birthdays and anniversaries. AND, it’s the shortest month of the year. The days are slowly becoming longer – adding more light to our day. It’s coming…more and more light. Just a few more shovels left and we’ll be hanging outside much more. Hang in there – Spring is just around the corner.

 If you watched the super bowl you know who WON and who LOST. The “winners” looked like they were having so much fun as you see the players smiling, laughing, hugging and jumping up and down. The “Losers” had their heads down, not jumping around, not laughing or smiling. They looked sad. But, is it sad? Instead of calling it losing, how about calling it “learning.” There is so much gain and growth in losing, often times much more than in winning. Wayne Dyer says, “Change the way you look at things and the things you look at change.” Losing doesn’t mean you are a “loser”, it means that when you get to the win, you will have learned and gained more than the winner in the end. Instead of saying winner and loser, call it winner and learner! It is not as degrading as hearing the word loser!

When was the last time you made an ASSUMPTION about someone or something? We do it all of the time. We can’t possibly know what is going on in the minds or lives or other people. However, often times we take it personally when people don’t behave, act, or fit in the mold we assume them to hold. We assume women and men are a certain way, that all doctors are smart, that all homeless people are losers, that people who don’t email us or return our messages dislike us or are mad at us. Assumptions about people and events can be dangerous if we let me negatively impact our thoughts. Consider asking questions or waiting until the people or situation changes to reduce the lure of an assumption. What kinds of things do you assume regularly that have gotten you into trouble?

What can DOGSLEDDING teach us about our purpose? The dogs attached to the sleds seem to know their purpose and there is no stopping them. After a good breakfast, they are raring to move and pull the sleds through the snow and into the woods. They were simply meant to do this. I wonder if the excitement they have is because they know what their purpose/WHY is? There is a relationship between knowing your purpose and the motivation and energy that follows. What a neat example to be around these dogs and the enthusiasm they demonstrate….all stemming from knowing their purpose.