If you've been around my work for any length of time, you know that I tap into nature metaphors to highlight new ways to think about our life and in business.
Years ago, when I was struggling with every aspect of my corporate job — the schedule, the travel, the workload, the layers of hierarchy — my body, mind, and spirit were sending me numerous signals that the corporate world was NOT a viable place for me to work.
At the time I had chronic fatigue syndrome, so nearly all of my energy went toward surviving my work week and healing. I soon realized I needed to create a life and work where I could thrive naturally without using up all of my precious energy.
During my Winter of healing, I kept imagining myself as a native wildflower planted in precisely the right ecosystem so that I could flourish with ease.
A Nature Metaphor About Thriving
Low Maintenance Plants
Native plants that are indigenous to an area tend to thrive with relative ease without human support. When plants are naturally well suited to their environment, they have access to everything they need to flourish. The surrounding ecosystem provides the appropriate soil chemistry, sunlight, temperatures, and water that the plant needs to grow.
Furthermore, these plants are naturally resistant to the local pests or have partner species in the area that protect them. The habits of the plant provide habitat and resources for the animals, insects, butterflies, and bees in the area. The sense of community supports the plants' growth.
This fairy-slipper is a form of orchid that is native to the Pacific Northwest and thrives in undisturbed northern forests. A few months ago as I was walking through a small forested area on our property I was delighted to discover this beautiful native wildflower at my feet.
High Maintenance Plants
If plants are brought into an area — accidentally or purposefully — that does not match their needs, they struggle to survive, let alone thrive. In all likelihood these plants will need humans to intervene on their behalf to survive.
They have a narrow band of circumstances that support growth. The temperature needs to be right, the soil must have the right chemistry, the sunlight must hit the plant during a certain time of day, the humidity in the air much be right, and water must appear in just the right amounts in the right season. Because these plants aren't well suited to the environment, they are likely to struggle to withstand pests as well.
The orchid shown here is one of 100 varieties of orchids native to tropical and subtropical areas of Asia and Australia. Although this orchid can tolerate some frost, everything else about the needs of this plant would make it extremely difficult for me to grow on my property, even inside my house.
Bottom Line: A plant's chance of flourishing increases when it is well suited to its environment. The same plant can thrive in one climate without much effort and struggle mightily in another ecosystem. The key is matching the plant's needs with what is naturally available in the environment.
What Does This Have to Do With Helping Your Business Thrive? Everything!
Imagine for a moment that:
- You are the plant in this example.
- The approach you are taking to create, grow, and market your business is the environment.
The Key Question: Does the business approach you've been leaning on provide you with the environment, climate, nourishment, and support you need to flourish?
Let me describe a couple of examples:
- When you are an intuitive, sensitive, creative Change Catalyst relying on the Mainstream Approach for creating, growing, and marketing your business, you may discover that you are struggling to thrive.
The more effort you put in to "making it work," the more frustrated and alienated you feel. It takes all of your energy just to stay on the path, doing what you are "supposed" to do. You don't even have the energy you need to move your business to the next level. As a result of this lack of alignment, you are like a high-maintenance plant.
- When you are an intuitive, sensitive, creative Change Catalyst relying on the Organic Way for creating, growing, and marketing your business, you feel aligned with the culture, the gentle pace, and the personalized nature of the approach. You make decisions about your business that align with your natural way of being.
With each step forward, you see your proof that you are beginning to thrive. Over time each new iteration enables you to move your business to the next level. In this environment, you are like a low-maintenance plant in your native climate.
One of the keys to creating, growing, and marketing a business that aligns with what is true for you is making sure you have a good, up-to-date sense of what you value and how you function best.
If you are feeling stuck, burned out, stale, or uninspired about how you are thinking about your work with clients, your business, or your marketing, the following retreat will serve as a catalyst to reconnect with yourself and your business in a way that reflects all of who you are.
I hope you can join us!