Being Thankful

He is a wise man who does not grieve for the things which he has not, but rejoices for those which he has. - Epictetus

Do you have a gratitude practice? If not, today is a great time to start

This year, practicing being grateful is an interesting exercise. 2020 has brought us a lot of strangeness and a lot of concerns. And yet, peeking out from behind it, I bet we can all find some things to be grateful for.

Here’s a few of the many things I’m grateful for this year:

• While the shutdowns and quarantine restrictions have had serious negative consequences for many individuals and companies, we’ve been able to survive so far. While I’m not on pace to have a record year like some of my friends are, I do see an uptick as we approach the end of the year.
• The quarantines have been difficult in many ways, yet it’s had good points. My wife’s office has gone fully remote, and we’ve enjoyed having the opportunity to be home together. Although we’re both busy with our work, we do get to have lunch and take breaks together, which has been really nice.
• While school isn’t like we envisioned it, it’s enabled us to spend more time with our kids, and to be more involved in our younger son’s education.
• And while all these virtual meetings can lead to “Zoom Fatigue”, they also have their upsides:
  • We’ve set up family Zoom meetings and have thoroughly enjoyed getting the whole family “together” at once. And it’s nice to see each other, as well as hear each other. (Sure, we could have done this pre-pandemic—I’ve had a Zoom account since 2017—we hadn’t thought to do it. So oddly enough, being quarantined has brought us closer together.
  • Due to “Zoom Church,” we’ve been able to attend our local church service, and then pop into my brother’s church (in Ohio) and hear his sermons.
  • Earlier this year, I attended a friend’s birthday party via Zoom. He lives in Colorado, so without being forced into remote gatherings, I most likely wouldn’t have even received an invitation, let alone been able to attend.
  • Last week, I attended a virtual Mastermind meeting. Pre-pandemic, we’d have met in person, and between the meetings and travel time, I’d have lost about a week of being in the office. Plus, I would have encountered travel expenses, and I would have had to be away from my family during that time. But this year, we met virtually. No travel time, and at the end of the day, I could be with my family again.
  • I’ve been able to reconnect with friends, past coworkers, and past clients via “virtual coffees.” While we could have done this before, being forced into more virtual groups made us more aware and open to meeting like this. It’s been great catching up, and we identified several opportunities to work together to create more business for each of us.
  • I volunteer with 2 job networking groups, and thanks to meeting remotely, we’ve been able to expand our reach. Instead of being a strictly local group, we can now serve members across the nation, increasing our potential impact.
  • And I’m finding that virtual meetings are more efficient than in-person meetings, especially with my corporate clients. For whatever reason, people tend to show up on time, and they seem intent on conducting business and ending the meeting on time. All of the chit chat, side conversations, snide remarks, and stalling so that there won’t be any time left to work once the meeting is over, just seems to go away.

It’s also opened up more opportunities for my business.

Business Coaching

While helping people create and run a business from their RV is still my primary focus, I’m not limited to that. Many people who have lost their jobs are looking into starting their own business, and believe it or not, this is a great time for that. While some industries are flailing, others are thriving and growing by “leaps and bounds.” As long as you position yourself in a growing industry, you can be very profitable. 

Remote Work Coaching

For many people, being “forced” to work remotely is a dream. But for others, it’s a nightmare. The sudden shift to working remotely without a lot of advanced planning has made it difficult for some. For many, having a spouse and kids at home is a major distraction, making it more difficult to work efficiently. And for some, not having the structure of an office makes it difficult to focus and get work done.

So I’ve started offering coaching to employees and companies who are needing help with effective remote work.

So there’s a sampling of some of the things I’m grateful for.

Helping Each Other

Finally, are there ways we can help each other? If there’s anything I can do to help you achieve your goals, please let me know.

Likewise, if you or anyone you know is considering RVing full time; is considering creating a business (with or without the intent to RV Full time); has created a business and needs help attracting customers; or is looking to be more productive while working remotely, please reach out or introduce us. We can have a no-obligation “virtual coffee” to discuss ideas and determine if we would be a good fit.

How about you? Have you found things for which your grateful? I’d love to hear about them.