We Wear The Mask...The Entrepreneur's Coverup

Paul Laurence Dunbar (1872-1906)

   We Wear the Mask

    WE wear the mask that grins and lies, 

    It hides our cheeks and shades our eyes,— 

    This debt we pay to human guile; 

    With torn and bleeding hearts we smile, 

    And mouth with myriad subtleties. 

    Why should the world be over-wise, 

    In counting all our tears and sighs? 

    Nay, let them only see us, while 

            We wear the mask. 

    We smile, but, O great Christ, our cries 

    To thee from tortured souls arise. 

    We sing, but oh the clay is vile 

    Beneath our feet, and long the mile; 

    But let the world dream otherwise, 

            We wear the mask!

As an entrepreneur we have to show No Fear.  We must be risk takers, rule makers and smile fakers.  We can not go to our employees to share the burden of a crisis.  We can not show weakness to our competitors.  We must protect the bottom line and our relationships with investors.  We must wear the mask.

Being an entrepreneur sometimes feels like you've started a cross country trek.  Many will be amazed but few if any will take the journey with you.  They'll like your Facebook posts but will question why you would start this endeavor.  They will envy your success but never consider following in your footsteps.  They will laugh at your foibles and in failure they will whisper that everyone knew that it couldn't be done so your failure is really just life putting you back in your place.

They will continue to exist but for you, oh glorious entrepreneur, "existence is futile."  We can not be a part of The Collective.  We have mountains to climb, Lands to explore and Accomplishments to Meet.  

Cherish the challenges that bring you to this place of EXCELLENCE.  Drop the pretense and masks. Amongst those that you are shielding your life from you might find support.  But even if you find negativity then congratulations because now you've found the truth.

Let that truth lead you to surround yourself with the right people. For every entrepreneur we must have a SAFE PLACE to come out of our silos and commiserate, recreate and celebrate.  Find your place because there there is no need for a mask.

Be bold. Be Brave and Be Free.

***Yes this is my favorite poem and Yes, those are Star Trek references (live long and prosper)

Shirley E. Crawford

Small Business Whisperer * Speaker * Lecturer
The tools and resources that your business needs  to succeed

2nd Chance Consulting

Your 2nd Chance at a first impression
804-426-1515

Is This The Life You Dreamed Of?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ng0VcQjZVbk

When I grow up...  Did you envision life as a football player, ballerina or a movie star.  What did you dream that your life would be?

Are you what you'd always hoped you be?  Are you anywhere near being what or where you'd planned for in college or after high school?  Do you look up from your desk job or carpool and wonder how you got there?  

Well rather than wondering if this is really your life it's time to dream again but then follow up with some action.  It might be too late to be a football player but it's not too late to have a life where you can earn income and still have time and funds for travel, family.

The life you seek could probably be found in answering this simple question for your business. What will my business be when it grows up? Take some time and revisit your "When My Business Grows Up Plan" otherwise known as your business plan.  

Are you still on track? Did you get distracted by dollar signs, the economy or convenience?  Now is the time to go back in order to go forward. Figure out what you want your business to be, plot the course and then stick to it.  You'll be amazed that your business can grow in to everything you've envisioned when you do the work to help it grow up.

Shirley E. Crawford

Small Business Whisperer * Speaker * Lecturer
The tools and resources that your business needs  to succeed

2nd Chance Consulting

Your 2nd Chance at a first impression
804-426-1515

Take What You Need and Leave the Rest

To be successful one has to be a perpetual student.  There will always be something new to learn or expound upon in order to stay on top of your industry and frankly your life.  In that vein last week I attended a very promising all day seminar.  The speaker had an extensive list of credentials and a truly exciting outline (yes, I'm a geek).

Within less than 20 minutes of the presentation and in the midst of an eye opening aha moment she made a statement about the value, or lack thereof, of social media in the spectrum of things.  As a social media educator and one who has seen the massive impact of social media, used correctly, my ears started to close shut to any additional "words of wisdom" and also made me want to question everything she'd said up to that point. 

At this point I had a couple of choices and I promise you I debated extensively within myself.  In the meantime I missed a portion of the seminar before I shook myself and realized how stupid I was being.  Her pedigree was clear.  Her experience was unquestionable and even within the first few minutes she had already opened my eyes to things that seemed so obvious but were untouched in my life.

I determined then to take what I needed and leave the rest.  I filed away the questionable comments, admittedly physically flinching when I heard them, instead focusing on the amazing pearls of wisdom that she was throwing out like beads at Mardi Gras. The lesson for ALL OF US became blatantly obvious.

In every teacher/mentor/educator there are fountains of information ready to be poured in to your life BUT just because they package it differently or have differing opinions about some things does not negate the tutelage that they can offer you.   Shake yourself, open your eyes and ears and then Take What You Need and Leave The Rest. 

   

Shirley E. Crawford

Small Business Whisperer * Speaker * Lecturer
The tools and resources that your business needs  to succeed

2nd Chance Consulting

Your 2nd Chance at a first impression
804-426-1515

Start Where You Are

It's not enough to have natural talent.  It's not enough to be smart.  It's not enough. None of it is enough until you do something with it.

Two years ago for my birthday, June 29th - yes you are welcome to send gifts, I gave myself the gift of the US Open.  I used AirBnB and stayed in a brownstone in Harlem and checked the US Open and seeing Venus and Serena Williams play tennis off of my bucket list.

The Event itself is spectacular but what made my heart stop was to look up and see the name on the side of one of the center courts, the Arthur Ashe Stadium.  In addition there is the plaque with his tennis record and the Foundation in his name that was hosting an event in addition to the Arthur Ashe Kids day which is hosted during the first day of the US Open.

The grandeur, the pomp and circumstance and Arthur Ashe was just a kid who lived close to the home I grew up in.  He was the kid that the neighbors knew but I'd never met.  They said he was the scrawny tennis boy but they said it with pride.  His impact is immortalized in a statue on Monument Avenue in Richmond, there is a sports center in his name locally but internationally his stadium and the Jr Tennis division all show and bear the direct impact of his life.

How does one go from losing one's mother and being held back because of the color of your skin to receiving the Presidential Medal of Honor and being the first person that Nelson Mandela wanted to meet after being freed from prison.  As Ashe put it you, "Start where you are. Use what you have. Do what you can."

What hinderances are we allowing to limit our greatness?  The answer to our success really is just this simple.  Set your goal and then just get started.  Take the skills, gifts and talents that you have and use them.  But never let what you accomplish be enough.  Add to your talents education.  Education is to be found in the classroom but also in the classroom of the world.  Learn from your neighbors.  And whenever the challenge seems too great then place your focus on the spot in front of you.  Conquer where you are and then move on to the next step.  If you maintain that focus you will be amazed when you look up and look back to see how far you've come.

Start where you are and then NEVER STOP!

   

Shirley E. Crawford
Small Business Whisperer * Speaker * Lecturer
The tools and resources that your business needs  to succeed

2nd Chance Consulting
Your 2nd Chance at a first impression
804-426-1515

Who Needs Spring Break...Break When You Wanna

I ALWAYS HAVE WORK TO DO.  As an entrepreneur there is always something that needs to be done.  Even after a gratifying success there is still the next goal that needs to be met in order to keep your business running for years to come.

When you worked for someone else you knew exactly how much time away from work you would have.... 2 weeks the first year maybe 3 weeks for some of you.  You had to schedule vacation time to accommodate doctor's appointments and match when your kids were out of school.  This week is Spring Break for most and you would have had to compete with every other employee to get your vacation request in and hope that you got the time off.

Well now you've launched out on your own and it's time for you to realize that YOU are your boss.  Feel free to go with your kids on a field trip.  Allow yourself to have a spa day or day of golf.  YOU control your schedule so it's Spring Break feel empowered to block as many hours as you like to spend quality time with your family.  

Why should you feel guilty about time away from the work?  I promise you the work will be there when you return AND you will be rejuvenated AND it will be easier to remember why you work yourself so hard.  As an entrepreneur you can provide financially but you also have the liberty to provide emotionally.  So, feel free to ask your boss for some time off.  Personally I'm on my way to the beach the moment this post is over.  Ta Ta

Shirley Crawford

2nd Chance Consulting

   

Shirley E. Crawford
Small Business Whisperer * Speaker * Lecturer
The tools and resources that your business needs  to succeed

2nd Chance Consulting
Your 2nd Chance at a first impression
804-426-1515

Beware of Dream Killers

Several years ago while I was a consultant heading up a mentorship program for PAL (Police Athletic League) I often talked to middle school students about their hopes and dreams.  One of my favorite exercises was to ask, "What do you want to be when you grow up?. "  

The answers were pretty standard...football player, singer, movie star with a few answers of teacher slid in for good measure.  My counterparts once observed that these were unrealistic and that I should discourage the children from those arenas to more "practical, obtainable" occupations.

While this might sound logical it offended me in ways that are hard to explain and my sharp, but polite, retort probably seemed out of context but I know these dream killers from personal experience.  When I was a 6th grader at Thomas H. Henderson Middle School I was an awkward, violin playing, walking down the hallway with my nose in a book reading, volleyball playing and track running  straight A student.  

As was standard we each had a visit with the guidance counselor.  I was freakishly excited to hear her "guidance."  I sat down and this women who I had never met before and never saw again proceeded to tell me, with the kindest of smiles, that while my grades and activities were great that I had better consider learning a trade and potentially consider trade school since college would probably not be an option for me.  

I can still feel the chill from that day as I sat there shivering in her office.  But today I thank her as I left that office MOTIVATED to not only go to college but to succeed, to never be mediocre and to be more successful than her.  To this day I still bear that slight and so when I stood at my middle school alma mater Henderson sharing hope and vision with future generations I can't allow someone to even think about killing their dreams.

As I shared with every group that did that exercise the size of the dream is irrelevant.  The most important piece is how bad do you want it and what are you willing to do to get it.  I talked them through the steps and requirements of their desired professions and helped them create a timeline and checklist.   They left those groups with a goal which often led to higher grades, attendance and attrition rates.  

For your business you have a goal, a dream and a vision.  Don't allow others who are too afraid to try, too afraid to succeed impact your decision to try, to succeed and to prove them all wrong.

Shirley Crawford

2nd Chance Consulting

   

Shirley E. Crawford
Small Business Whisperer * Speaker * Lecturer
The tools and resources that your business needs  to succeed

2nd Chance Consulting
Your 2nd Chance at a first impression
804-426-1515

I'm Going To Be A Millionaire

I have decided to become a millionaire.  You might think well who hasn't thought to become one before and the answer would be me.  But outside of not making that a goal I'd simply defined my success in measurements other than money and that's what I got successes other than money.

This week I made the decision and I have the exact dollar amount in mind and I shall achieve it.  One might wonder why I will when others haven't.  Frankly others only thought about it.  Ideas are not decisions.  Ideas are intangible and fleeting as air.  Like a puff of smoke, they surround you and evaporate.

A poorly executed plan is still 100% more likely to succeed than a never executed idea.  I respect and appreciate the dreamers, the visionaries...the idea people BUT they are simply the philosophers on the corner extolling ideologies.  My truest love is for the doers.  The crazy, let's try it and see "action" people. 

The world might count your losses now but your victory is in your fearlessness, your faithfulness and your ferocious dedication to something better.  The world might appear to mock you but know that they respect you and only ridicule you because your life makes them question theirs.  They want to see you succeed to see that it can be done but they want you to fail to justify their lack of action.

So, do this for you.  Do this for yours.  Join me on my journey of future millionaires or future impacters of the world.  Yep it's just that simple.  Dream, Plot, Plan and Make It Happen!