Yes, the cocoa worked!

I’ve gotten so many emails wanting to know if I’m sleeping better.  Yes.  I had my cocoa, had a good night’s sleep and am (almost) irritatingly enthusiastic once again.  (OK…well…still just a tidge of an edge, but that’s wearing off.)  The funny thing is that when I’m feeling a bit boxed in by too many thoughts, worries, stress, I actually get a physical feeling of claustrophobia.  So thinking back to my week, I really did have a lot on my plate, but more than that is how I’m looking at expansion of my business.

I wear two hats — the first is as blogger/social media consultant.  I LOVE this hat.  When I can tug at someone’s heartstrings, make them feel good in their skin, pass along good info, make them aware of social or political issues they might not have been thinking about, it feels great.  When I can help a small business start to make their mark online and they become part of the online world as a result…ahhh, that feels great!  When I’m prepping for a seminar, I get a bit edgy, because I’m geared for the partipants to come out of the seminar armed and ready to create their online strategy; with every new client entering into social media in this rough economy, they deserve the most bang for their buck – so I have high expectations of my own performance and what I deliver to my clients. 

My second hat is as the owner of a pet services company (Pooch Buddies, for those of you in LA!) — a great business, where I get to spend time with loving animals and their terrific owners, and best of all, enjoy all that nature has to offer.  Green grass, blooming flowers, plenty of exercise and a reconnection with nature that I hadn’t even realized I was missing throughout all those years in the concrete jungle of corporate America. 

As a result of spending so much time in nature, it is no surprise to me that stress gives me that feeling of being boxed in.  And as with any good business model, you have to look to your expansion.  In my case, with a growing business, I simply need more space.  My dilemma has been how to deliver that space.  Would my move take me back to concrete walls in a warehouse area?  Or would it take me to a ranch, where the animals (and I) could delight in nature, but where the business would still operate out of my home environment?  I’ve been taking moves in both directions, throwing it all up in the air like a bowl of spaghetti, and hoping the right answer would stick.  It’s not that I won’t expand.  I must expand — it’s the how that has had me in a tizzy. 

In order to find my path, I go back to my tried and true. I work at my dining room table.  I have a gorgeous office and no one understands why I default back to the dining room table — but it is because of the restorative view of my garden.  That is where I become “un-boxed”, and reminded of the reasons that bring me joy in this new phase of life.  And sitting at my dining room table  today, is what convinced me that the ranch is the right plan.  In the midst of a most hectic day, my dog let me know that she was about to chase the squirrels.  As she ran out, in blew the smell of the roses from my garden.

Heck, I love having dogs hanging around.  I enjoy being an urban gardener and watching my dog chase squirrels away from the fruit trees.    I love having no concrete walls around me, taking my shoes off and walking in the grass, drinking cocoa with my child and taking in the smell of fresh lavendar and jasmine wafting in through my patio door.  I realize I’m sharing a lot of myself personally (well…I kinda, sorta always do that anyways…kinda, sorta all of the time…), so I’ll tell you just a couple of other things that have happened over the years that I remembered while sitting at my table today.  My clients have noticed that I’m really happy.  Not  fake “I’m being happy because my business face better be happy”, but real, in my heart and soul happy.  A few of my clients have ended up quitting their jobs and finding different paths as a result of being inspired to take a leap of faith into an unknown business climate.  It’s not without difficulty, especially when you choose a path of organic growth, but in the end, I am able to find the right journey for me.  Yup, ranch it is.