Appreciation Marketing – Grieving

Grieving after a loss is a process through which all of us must pass for closure on a past experience. While most of us associate this process with the loss of a loved one, or even a romantic involvement, it may also be related to the loss of a job with a business. Both types of losses have the same level of impact on our lives, including emotionally.

Just like a romantic involvement, or a relationship of any type, we assume that employment with a business will last for the foreseeable future, however long that may be. In the past we may have anticipated that we would work with one company for the majority of our lives, and moving from one company to another was looked upon with disdain. Both of these ideas are ancient history, gone from the current logic.

Hardly any of us have not experienced a loss of a loved one or relative? Also, due to the recent economic decline, most of us have experienced the loss of a position with a company which employed us, perhaps the “dream job” for which we groomed ourselves or in which we “grew up”. Afterwards we must go through a grieving process, just like the loss of a love. Until then, it is difficult to move on in life.

It is from the broken pieces of this lost career that some people gain the strength to start a business, the one which they may have dreamed of all their lives. They may take the experience, knowledge, and abilities that they gained and start a new business in the same industry. Some people even transfer their talent to an entirely new industry.

Entrepreneurs are born from adversity. They almost always have experienced a life changing event in their lives. They have discovered the desire and commitment to never allow someone else to curb their ability to “try something new” or to “venture into new territory. They may face obstacles, or they may face limitations, but they rely on their proven talent to discover the way to prevail.

I always say that we all should spend some time every day in self improvement. This includes learning more about our business industry, our own business’s functions, vendors, markets, and competitors, and about anything that will enhance our ability to market either our business or ourselves. This should also include information about transferring our skills to another industry or becoming our own boss or entrepreneur.

Don’t have an inclination to venture out into a new industry or to become a “risk-taker”? That is understandable; maybe you haven’t passed through the grieving process yet. Find someone and discuss this situation, and maybe you can find some answers together. If nothing else you may gain another perspective on the problem, perhaps a result that may change your life. Don’t be the person hiding behind a closed door.

Open your mind to the possibilities that life has for you and at least take a good look at them. Don’t take the attitude that you don’t have the ability or the courage to take a chance to control your life. Find someone to chat with and have an honest, fact-finding conversation that could change your life. You may be surprised at yourself.

Please leave me your comments, or email me at Jim@SOC4Now.com, or call me at 360-314-8691. Maybe your networking partners can help you with the grieving that you need to experience. Maybe one of your partners needs your help in passing through the grieving process in which they are mired. After all that’s what partners should do. Need a partner? You know my number.