This weekend, I experienced classic New England showmanship. Yesterday, I woke to snow falling over the burgeoning green fields in our backyard, and this morning I welcomed the first hummingbird of the season to our deck feeder.  

What a gift, I thought to myself, as I watched the tiny bird take several sips of sugar water. I’ve been awaiting her return from the long, harrowing journey down south for the last two weeks.

When it comes to Mother Nature, you don’t have to look far to find strength in purpose during challenging times. The tenacity of a squirrel who runs twenty-feet up and down a tree, over and over again, to build a den to house her young, is a reminder of what can be accomplished with hard work.  

Or the turtle who makes the long trek from the reservoir below to an ancestral breeding spot in our yard so she can dig a nesting burrow and lay her eggs reminds us of the power of persistence when climbing hills.

These days, I keep these unusual role models in mind when I think about those of you who are worried about your jobs or businesses during this economic shutdown. The pandemic is taking its toll on so many and it’s heartbreaking to talk to friends and colleagues who are worried about feeding their families or staying in business. 

That said, it’s also heartening to see their creativity and ingenuity at work as well. 

This week, I talked to my friend, Ginger, who helps women craft a personal style that reflects their essence, and she told me she’s done a couple of things to support her clients.  First, she created an online tutorial to help women look great during zoom meetings (you can watch it here). I found it very helpful as I started to teach live classes. 

She’s also using zoom to help women shop online from the comfort of their homes. I suspect this offering may be a new trend that sticks. 

There’s a local mechanic in our town who will now pick up your car, take it to his shop for repairs, and return it cleaned, sanitized, and ready to go, once fixed. Several people on our local Facebook page have commented that they would love to use this type of service even when the quarantine ends and I imagine he’ll acquire new customers as a result.  

There’s so much systemic change on the horizon. Education, healthcare, and businesses, large and small, have all been disrupted. The abrupt changes will require us to embrace new methods of working from now on. Some students will continue online classes. There are doctor visits that will remain virtual even after the quarantine has been lifted. And remote work will now be an option for some employees who never imagined being able to work from home.  

These days, I think about the advice I often gave clients who were undergoing big changes in their lives. While situations varied, some messages were universal:

No one is coming to save you. You must take full responsibility for your success.

That said, you can’t do it alone. You’ll have to be willing to ask for and receive help.

If you use this crisis to become a more loving, self-aware, and compassionate human being, your life will be far better than it ever was before.

If you’d like help finding creative ways to keep your business going or to share your skills with others in a financially lucrative way, join me for a Facebook Live on Monday, May 11^th, at 12 noon ET/9am PT and I’ll do my best to offer ideas and suggestions.

Let’s get through this together!

Love,
Cheryl

Photo by Naitian(Tony)Wang on Unsplash