What do you see when you back up?

There are certain things best seen from a distance.  Large things.  The Grand Canyon.  The Golden Gate Bridge.  The New York City skyline.  Without distance, pieces are all you can take in.  This is a massive Christmas tree at Opryland Hotel.  There’s a beautiful view of it from an overlook and as you look from that distance you can take in the whole view.  You can see how it fits into its surroundings.  You can watch the water reflect the lights and the fountains disrupt that reflection.  You can see how it’s set in a perfect location and surrounded by the other trees and plants and decorations.  From this point, it draws you in, it’s a foregone conclusion. As people get to this location in the gardens, they are pulled to that tree.  From this vantage point you can watch it happen.  Visitors from all directions converge on that tree.

We’re in full swing of the busy holiday season, but small business marketing dude David Johnson of Epiphany Marketing reminded me this week that what you do now lays the foundation for your January success.  He was speaking in terms of business…the plans we make now, the strategies we put in place dramatically affect our first quarter of 2010.  On a personal level, many of you will be thinking about New Year’s Resolutions in a few weeks after the bedlam of shopping and opening subsides. Don’t wait until you’ve had too many cookies and eggnog  to think about 2010.  Not only will it be too late, but sugar comas are bad for clear thinking.

Now–during mid-December, find a way to set some quiet time aside to mentally back up from your life and gain some perspective.  Take a look at the big picture…

• Where are you?
• Look around.  How do you fit in your surroundings?
• What do you reflect to the people around you?
• What gets in the way?  What disrupts a good reflection?
• Are people drawn to you and your life?  Why or why not?

These aren’t the standard “review your life” questions and in reality (especially if this is new to you), the actual questions and answers are not the most important thing.  The critical thing is the exercise in perspective.

What do you see when you back up?