When the seasons change it is a sign of bigger changes to come.  Something happened last week that rocked my confidence in people.  When I get a shake like this I begin to wonder what I am doing and how I might be able to avoid that punch in the gut again.  My initial reaction is to not trust others, to only rely on myself and to keep all others at an arms-length.  Then I remember why I am in this business – to help others AND to provide a place for others to make a living. 

It is hard when someone you know and trust and think of as a friend, disrespects the opportunity you have given them and therefore affects you and your business.  What do you do?  I cannot change the way in which people act.  I cannot make them be a more professional.  I cannot make them act (what I perceive to be) appropriate.  I cannot make them thankful for all that I have provided them.  I cannot make them understand why their behavior had such an effect on my business or on me.  I can only accept and ultimately forgive. Ah, and that is the hard part.

When I am rocked to my core, I begin to evaluate my life, my job, my purpose and my passions.  If I am in business to help people and provide a place for others to make a living, how can I attract the people who see this as a special opportunity and who will treat it with respect?  How do you find good people who will share your vision and passion and be an extension of that when they are out doing business?  How can we trust anyone with that big responsibility?  You must.  I must.  I must continue to trust and to have confidence in others.  I must remember that everything happens for a reason and that reason is yet to be determined.  I must see the good in people, even the ones that have hurt me.  I must look beyond me and my business to that person’s bigger picture.  I must continue to do and be the best I can be, even if they are not doing and being their best.  And, I must forgive. 

So, this is a healing for me.  As the seasons change, so do our businesses.  We do not question the change in the weather or the season, we accept the change with, perhaps, a little sadness, but none the less, we accept the change and then move on.