Confusing Your Passion with Your Purpose . . . Get Gifting!

“What if I fall?”
“Oh, but my darling, what if you fly?”

We were all crowded around the kitchen island as usual, debating the ways of the world. Jaden, my 5-year-old grandson, was among us.

“Hey Jaden, what do you want to be when you grow up?” I asked him.

“Well, I’m not going to be just one thing!” Jaden exclaimed. “I’m going to be lots of things! A paleontologist, an artist, a fisherman, an actor, a builder, a soccer star, and some other things too.”

My twenty-something niece leaned into me and secretly whispered to me, “What’s a paleontologist?”

Adults these days!

You hear it all the time . . . Follow your passion and everything in your life will instantly become roses, rainbows, and unicorns. And let’s not forget the money piece — money will immediately flow to you like water through a hacked Harlem hydrant in mid-July. HA!

One of my passions is golf, and while I do practice and work at it, I have never broken 80 — and the chances of that are getting slimmer. Nevertheless, I am passionate about golf . . . to the point, in fact, that I have been known to announce that I was going to the grocery store only to head to the range to practice my fairway woods and return home (once again) with no milk or bread. Oops!

I love everything about golf . . . the courses, the clothes, the equipment, the clubhouses, the people, the peace and beauty of being out on gorgeous, meticulously manicured stretches of green for hours on end. I even love the mental challenge — me against me. I work at my visualization, focus, and mind control, and if I do say so myself, I am a pretty good putter. I can literally see the line . . . well, most of the time . . . if the conditions are just right. So, what are the chances of changing my life significantly, contributing to the greater good, and supporting myself — all based on my golf game? Absolutely nil! It’s a passion though.

I have other passions too. I’m passionate about painting, design, and aesthetics. I’m passionate about the psychology of business and marketing. And I’m passionate about helping people find their purpose, understanding what makes them tick, inspiring them — and seeing them happy and flourishing. And I’m pretty good at those things too.

Defining my passions was easy. Discovering my gifts proved to be much harder. Until I did some soul-searching and talked with friends, colleagues, and family, I didn’t have much of a clue what my gifts were. But when I looked back on the roles I’d often ended up in throughout my life, I was surprised to realize that, while terribly shy at heart, I’d been pushed into leadership roles my entire life, even when I was little.

Here’s an example. Before I was due to start fourth grade, my mother, a language and reading special ed teacher, concluded that my brothers and I had dyslexia, so she plucked us out of the public school and enrolled us in a private day school.

A few weeks into the new school year, our teacher announced that a Playground Committee was being formed to offer advice on the new playground being built that year. Each class would be electing one representative to serve on the committee. And — you guessed it — I was elected our class representative, even though I was horribly shy, the only new kid in the class, and entirely new to the school. So, there it was — the first of a very long line of leadership roles throughout my life, most of which I have resisted.

Upon reflection, I realized that leadership is one of my gifts, and that, while I’d seen myself as painfully shy most of my life, others saw me differently. They still do. They place me in positions to represent them and to voice their opinions. I guess I’m a good listener and can articulate well too — other gifts.

A Gift or a Passion

Your gifts and your passions are two distinctly different things. Most people zero in on their passions only, and that’s where the mistake can happen and lead to confusion, disappointment, and frustration. Understanding the difference between the two is where the magic happens.

Your gifts are what you give to the world. They’re your natural abilities that spill out onto everyone around you without you even realizing it. You may not immediately recognize them or see them at all, but they’re there — and they are all yours! Your gifts are your innate abilities, extensions of your deepest beliefs and values that appear effortlessly in your personality and in your interactions with others. They can present as natural strengths and a type of deeper knowledge or understanding. Your gifts are not the same as your talents, skills, or abilities — instead, they are distinct aspects of your personality.

Your passions? Those are what you want from the world. They’re all those things you do that make your heart sing, give you authentic energy, and surround you with peace and joy when you’re doing them. Your passions are what you seek, not necessarily what others seek you out for.

At the Crossroads of Purpose

Your life’s work stands at the intersection of your gifts, your deepest values, your passions, and your skills, talents, and expertise. That crossroads is the epicenter of your purpose. The ideal life brings your passions and your gifts into perfect alignment — to create your best contribution.

One of my deepest beliefs is that the absolutely sole reason we are here on Earth is to help one another. Our “big picture” purpose is to contribute to the greater good of humankind, the world, and the universe. While daily life can easily — and frequently does — get in the way and can lead us down paths of default rather than desire, it’s important to remember that our true happiness exists at that intersection of passions and gifts.

I bet you can jot down your passions, talents, and skills pretty easily, right? But can you list your gifts and your deepest values just as easily?

The Green Light to Your Ideal Life

Here’s a simple exercise to help you begin discovering your ideal life.

• Fold two sheets of paper into four quadrants.

• Unfold them, and on each one, write Gifts in the top left, Deepest Values in the top right, Passions in the bottom left, and Talents, Skills, and Expertise in the bottom right.

• On one sheet write “ME” at the top, On the other, write ”OTHERS.”

• On the “ME” sheet, start listing things in each of those categories.

• Circle around the paper. As you write one thing in Deepest Values, it may spark a thought about Gifts or Passions.

• Take your time — a few days if you like. It’s a process, and reflection can help hone your thoughts.

• On the second piece of paper, list what others say about you.

• Ask a few people — those who have known you your whole life, others who know you from work, and still others related to your activities and hobbies — what they would list for you in each of those categories.

• Compare the two sheets. See the commonalities and also the differences? Do you see a theme running through the categories?

• Circle the common answers in each category on each paper, and then congratulate yourself! This is where you can begin to reveal your purpose and your ideal life.

Oh . . . and make sure you have fun with this exercise! Fun is a major element, an absolute necessity, in one’s purpose and ideal life.

Happy Discovering! Get Gifting.

Remember. . . Everything really is better with a bow on it. :)

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Lightning in a Bottle

A few years ago I spoke with a medium, a psychic. Toward the end of our conversation, she told me that my father had come forward and wanted to apologize for not being more present in my life when I was younger.

This confused me at first, because I had always felt I had an awesome childhood. Reflecting deeper, I realized my Dad and I had not spent much time together at all. In fact, the only time I can recall was when, at age seven or eight, he took me on my first flight in his plane and we flew over Mount Monadnock in southern New Hampshire. I’ll never forget seeing those hikers, how tiny they all looked, and how unusual the perspective was viewing them from above. It was magical. And… we don’t know what we don’t know.

I’m the youngest of six and that is more likely the reason Dad and I didn’t get to spend much time together. I often describe myself as being “born into a crowd” and being “raised by wolves” (the wolves aspect is for another blog). I think that’s why I crave alone time yet feel simultaneously excited and at peace with a flurry of people rushing around me, whether it’s my big Scottish family or a pod of strangers.

Dad didn’t have much opportunity to spend alone time with me with my five siblings vying for attention, in both positive and negative forms, and working ten-to twelve-hour days to provide for his large family. It was controlled chaos from sun up to way past sun down.

The living room was his sanctuary. The couch fortressed with his magazines - Scientific American, National Geographic, Barron’s, and Arizona Highways, and his state-of-the-art Telefunken stereo blasted jazz, the Boston Symphony, or the Pops at any given time.

As kids we never hung out in the living room—that was our parents’ respite after family dinner. The six of us would jam ourselves in front of the TV in the small family room off the kitchen, a quarter of the size of the living room, squished together on the couch or on the floor, with one lucky person, usually Jamie, getting the coveted lone leather wing chair.

Dad was a brilliant man trapped between the life he was expected to live and the Renaissance man deep in his soul. He towed the line as the eldest and only son—Exeter, Yale, Harvard, then dutifully joining my grandfather’s firm, Fish and Richardson, as patent attorney. His Renaissance-ness was evident everywhere while I was growing up.

He designed our first house in Swampscott with Frank Lloyd Wright flair, and it was scattered with his design/build “early Kirkpatrick” mahogany furniture—very sleek and European in style. After a vacation to Germany in 1960, no doubt to escape from the six of us, he had the 1960 Porsche Super 90 he and Mom rented to tour the country shipped over because he admired and appreciated its precision engineering. Unheard of in that era.

A consummate gardener, Dad sought out unusual specimens to enhance our small yard; a Sequoia Redwood now soars 100-plus feet in our former side yard. He modeled the kitchen in the new house after industrial kitchen design with two separate ovens underneath a sprawling cooktop and center grill, three separate units and all stainless. Again, unheard of for a simple residence in 1960. No avocado-green range for my dad! And yes, he loved to cook, delighting in new-found flavor combinations and techniques a la The Galloping Gourmet.

He sailed and boated, piloted his own plane, skied, scuba dived, dabbled in photography, and played indoor badminton like nobody’s business, all the while keeping in step with the proverbial drummer of my grandparents’ expectations.

Yet when opportunities presented themselves to gently chide my grandparents’ aristocratic lifestyle, he did so with loving and poignant humor.

“Marty, you need to name your house. You live on the Neck now and everyone names their home. Pick a proper name.”, my grandmother insisted.

“Mom, I am happy to report that after deep and thoughtful consideration, we have chosen a name for our abode. We shall name her ‘Mar-Mar’ to represent the two of us, Marty and Marion, and I will personally paint it in large red letters on the big rock at the bottom of the driveway so it’s not to be missed.” I have no question my grandmother drove by daily for weeks paralyzed with fear that he’d do it.

But as the years went by, the daily pull of towing the line dragged him down, and the playful and inventive Renaissance man dissipated. His light began to fade. The scotch may have assisted in diluting it, but I think age and some sense of regret may have been the heavier weights. He would drive, not walk, the one-tenth mile to the yacht club, take the launch out to his sailboat, and just sit there. He wouldn’t go sailing or even invite anyone aboard. He would just sit there, probably reading, but mostly watching as everyone else and the world moved around him.

Was it the life that he created, one in which he remained the dutiful son under the weight of an expectant lifestyle, that snuffed out this Renaissance man? When did his light get stifled? When did he become just lightning in a bottle?

I’ve wondered lately what is that main thing that holds me back from taking action.

• Why do I restrain from voicing my opinion or sharing my artwork and my writing?

• What is it that makes me afraid of showing my light and my brilliance?

• What stops me when I know with one thousand percent certainty that stepping beyond my comfort zone will make my life richer and more fulfilling than I ever imagined and in endless ways?

For me I think it’s exposure. To some that may seem odd, but I am, in my core, very, very shy. In fact, I’m even uncomfortable taking my daily power walk so I tend to seek out complicated routes of small streets. I am afraid of people seeing me, being noticed. As the youngest of six, I realize I was most comfortable being in the background, even though I have always known I am meant to step forward. And I must step forward.

When pondering over what holds you back and what your fears are in creating the life of your dreams, take a look back to what your role was as a child.

• Are you still in that role?

• Do you take a step toward your goals and then pull yourself back?

• Why do you stay in your child role?

• To be accepted, loved, and feel safe?

While your child role may feel comfortable to you, it could be that it is only comfortable because it is familiar to you and was expected of you. But being too comfortable and familiar does not allow us to grow or for our hearts to sing.

I’m not suggesting you throw away that role. It’s a critical and important part of you and damn, it feels good to go back to now and then. Just be aware of it and how it may be restraining you from doing what you know in your heart you want to do and be.

At the end of my conversation with the medium, she told me that when the vision of my father left her, he dispersed into a thousand fireflies. “When you see a firefly, know your father is with you,” she said.

Pop the cork and release your light! It’s never, ever, ever too late. No matter your age or circumstances. Every day is a new opportunity to live the life that is singing in your heart. Take even one small step each day outside of your comfort zone, even a toe dip will do. With each step, and each toe dip, the water will become more familiar and comfortable.

Now go out, you Brilliant One, and be that firefly! Someone needs to see you flying freely.

Live Your Light!

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GROWTH STEP: Think back to your childhood and journal on the following questions.

• What was your child role in your family?

• Are there aspects of that role in your other adult relationships?

• Do you like that role?

• Do you want to step beyond that role?

• Has that role held you back from doing things in you life?

• What are those things?

My Perfect Day

I was having dinner with my friend, Rob, at the bar. It was a Friday and the alums were in town, so the place was packed. As the night wore on, the crowd thinned, likely off to their obligatory class dinners.

A new couple sat down next to us, joined by their college-age daughter. The dad was the alum, a pleasant-looking man in his mid-sixties, slightly overweight but very content and relaxed in his demeanor. An orthopedic surgeon from Philadelphia, the wife proudly revealed.

I asked her what she did in Philadelphia and she announced she was a cosmetic surgeon. “No way!”, I thought. I just didn't believe it. Clearly, she’d had plenty of “procedures,” but she did not have the bedside manner of a surgeon. He did, that was evident, but she was something else.

Quite audibly and outrageously the spokesperson for their small group—loud and touchy—her energy hit me like a herd of buffalo. I instinctually sucked in my stomach, sat taller, chin up, tits up, shoulders back, and prayed she wouldn't see the multitude of flaws in my face. Damn, why didn’t I make that Botox appointment! At least my hair looked good. She had a visceral hold on me.

She boasted about her age and how wonderful she looked in spite of it.

“Do you work out?” Rob asked. (He’s really into his Peloton exercise bike right now.)

“Don’t I look like I work out?” she demanded, as she straightened and twisted so we could admire her slim profile. We assured her that she looked fantastic, especially for her age.

I sat back, mildly regretting the potatoes I inhaled along with the salmon. They were so good though. “Peel the onion,” I thought. “Peel the onion.”

“So what do you do that brings you joy?” It slowed her down a touch, but she recovered nicely.

“Oh, my work brings me joy and of course, my family and my friends too,” she said, hugging her husband from behind.

“But what do you do just for yourself that gives you joy?” I asked.

“I’m a very busy person.”

OK, I thought, time for a change of tack. “Coming about!” I bellowed in my head.

“Today I wrote out what my perfect day would be. Have you ever done that? It was surprisingly difficult. It took me over 3 hours. There were things I was afraid to write down at first because they felt so outrageous. But, you know, as I thought more about them, I realized they just made me feel uncomfortable because I didn’t feel worthy of them. Once I worked through my fears of worthiness, things flowed and it was really fun. I also realized that some of the things in my perfect day exist right now in my daily life. That was a bright spot.”

“So what is your perfect day?” she asked.

Aha! It worked! Just the opening I was looking for. I went on to describe exactly what my perfect day was in vivid detail. I had no trouble remembering it because by writing it down I had already lived it once in my mind and in my heart. It was exhilarating to describe it again. I added more detail, the Gingerlily Molton Brown body wash in the shower, the colors of the Italian tile we had custom made for the foyer, even the details of that perfect 40-foot putt that earned me 20 bucks and my best-ever golf score. Smells. Sounds. It became more and more real, more possible, more of exactly what I want.

She laughed here and there. At first, it bothered me. Who is she to be laughing at my dreams? But I realized that I too had started out laughing at my dreams, thinking they were an impossibility and that I wasn’t worthy of them. But what I really couldn’t ignore was the feeling inside of me as I shared them. That airy and warm summer breeze of peace and joy that softly caresses your face. It was dreamy. It was heady. It was intoxicating. I wouldn’t need that nightcap.

She was the first person with whom I had ever shared my perfect day. We’re often told the best way to put someone at ease and to break the ice is to ask questions about them—get them to talk because generally people love talking about themselves. However, I’ve found you can’t always be assured of candidness. In fact, let’s face it, those first encounters are often encrusted with the gems and jewels our egos choose to flash about.

When you start the peeling and revealing of your onion layers and expose your vulnerabilities, what matters to you, and your aspirations and dreams, becoming more transparent and odiferous, it opens the door and allows others to lower their guard and peel and reveal along with you.

The real benefit though, is what it does to you and for you by how it makes you feel.

“Life is not about finding yourself. Life is about creating yourself.”
—George Bernard Shaw

A covey of classmates swooped in on them and she was carried away in conversation. I googled her when I got home. Yup, she is a cosmetic surgeon in Philadephia. Good on her.

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GROWTH STEP: Set aside some time in the next few days to write out your perfect day. Give yourself at least two hours of uninterrupted time. Don’t rush it. It’s an energizing, painful, and delightful experience. And YES, you can have everything you want!!! So don’t hold back!

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“We have enough people who tell it like it is. Now we could use a few who tell it like it could be.” —Robert Orden

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Click to LEARN MORE About "Discovering Your Brilliance"

To read what my perfect day is go to: Janet's Perfect Day

Heart-Centered Businesses. Baloney or Bonafide?

“I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did,

but people will never forget how you made them feel.”

— Maya Angelou

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Recently, I contacted two long-term clients that I’ve been working with for over a decade, telling each that it was time to upgrade their websites. In both cases, the aging website platforms had become more susceptible to hacking due to the older third-party extensions, the overall design and layout of the sites were dated, and better options in functionality and features existed in newer platforms.

One client (Client A) is at the top of her industry, working with very high-end clients, and the other one (Client B) is a “wannabe high-end” company that services mid-range clients. During the course of our business relationship, I’ve doubted Client B’s ability to move to the top, and today the reason became crystal clear.

Client A greeted my proposal with excitement and appreciation, thankful for my watchful eye on the functionality of her website and grateful for my knowledge on the newer website technologies. She responded to my suggestion within two days and eagerly set up a meeting to get things going.

Client B was a different story. It took seven follow-up emails and multiple phone messages over eleven weeks to finally get a response.

Me: “Hi, reaching out again about the website upgrade. I’ve mentioned my concerns and the benefits in prior emails. I’m happy to meet or chat about it at your convenience. Let me know.”

Client B: “I’m sorry. I’m already working on a new website with another vendor.”

Me: “Is there something you are unhappy about with our work?”

Client B: “Not unhappy at all. Just found a vendor that can do sites for a lot less.”

(My inner dialogue — “WHAT!?! We’ve worked together for over ten years, and you are dumping me like this over an estimate without giving me the respect of a conversation? Over money rather than service? Where’s the loyalty? Where’s the respect?”)

Me: “Ok, sorry to hear that and best of luck.”

And that’s when it hit me: Client B will never, ever, ever get to the top — and now I know exactly why! It’s all about where her focus is centered.

A Fork in the Road

We’ve all seen the rise in popularity of the “Heart-Centered business trend: “How to become a heart-centered business” and “Why it makes a difference.” When it originally came into popularity I felt it came off as overly spiritual, focused more on coaching and counseling businesses, and generally directed at women. I hadn’t given it much merit, but the more I thought about it and looked at the differences between Clients A and B, I realized that it’s actually nothing new and that it’s been the hallmark for successful businesses forever.

I detected two distinct schools of thought and saw that every business places more value on one or the other . . . “Heart-Centered” or “Money-Centered.” And that, my friends, will make all the difference in your journey.

Why won’t Client B get to the top? You guessed it — she’s money-centered. The value of her customer and vendor relationships are focused first and foremost on money. I’m not implying that she doesn’t consider her customers’ needs and the quality of her product, but money takes precedence in her decision-making — instead of building strong and enduring relationships. While she skimps and saves here and there and stares at the bottom line rather than into her customers’ eyes, she is quietly burning bridges instead of building them.

The value of Client A’s relationships to her customers, vendors, contractors — everyone, in fact — is focused on heart and grounded in respect, loyalty, and the value of building long-term relationships. And that is exactly why she enjoys being the most sought-after builder in her area and has been for years. Her business model is clearly a mirror of her personal inherent core values. What sets her apart is that she makes everyone she meets feel valued. And when customers feel valued by a business, they’re more than willing to go the extra mile and recommend that business to their friends and acquaintances.

Now, who do you think I will end up referring people to in the future? Client A or Client B?

Where’s the beef? Or is it baloney?

There’s no baloney about it. It’s the beef! Being a heart-centered business has nothing to do with spirituality, coaching, women — none of that. It’s plain and simple values and ethics. Every business owner can and should be heart-centered, no matter whether you are an accountant, a lawyer, a realtor, or a car dealer. My friend Amanda Grappone, owner of Grappone Auto in New Hampshire, is changing the face and perception of “the car salesman” by instilling her heart-centered philosophy and implementing its related practices throughout her business. Her heart-centered style naturally spills out onto everyone and everything around her because she lives it in her core. Her staff is happy, her customers are happy, she’s happy. And the icing on the cake? It’s contributed to a healthy increase in the company’s bottom line as well.

You are what you eat.

You know what you should eat and what your core craves. The core values and ethics that you live your life by mirror your health and that of your business too. Take a very careful look at them. How healthy is your life? How about your business? Do you need to make a shift in what you value? Is it time for a detox?

For me, these are the essential components of a heart-centered business:

• Authenticity

• Transparency

• Consistent Communication

• Accessibility

• Focus on Building Long-Term Relationships

• Mutually Beneficial Outcomes

And these are the benefits:

• Loyalty

• Trust

• Respect

• Honesty

• Long-Term Relationships

• Mutually Beneficial Outcomes

• A Healthy Stream of Referrals

• A Healthy Bottom Line

• FUN & HAPPINESS IN BUSINESS AND LIFE!

What’s on your plate?

Hey, I’m not against making money — not at all! I love making money! We all need it to pay our bills, to live and provide for ourselves and our families, and to give back. But what I have noticed is that business owners who have a greater focus on money versus service and communication do not enjoy a long and fruitful life. Their journey is a constant struggle peppered with inconsistent clients and cash flow and resulting in stress and a shifting foundation.

Money-centered businesses never enjoy real security because they’re always looking for the next check and for ways to skimp and save rather than business flowing effortlessly to them from referrals. Businesses built on a heart-centered foundation, however, enjoy security freely because their foundation is reinforced with trust, respect, loyalty, honesty, and compassion. Security comes from building long-term relationships based on authentic communication and focused on mutually beneficial outcomes.

You’ve likely heard the concept that money is energy. Well, I finally understood this when I saw the differences between Client A and Client B. It really comes down to this: Heart-Centered = Relationship-Centered; Money-Centered = Self-Centered.

So, what’s on your plate? How are you getting energy? And how are you giving it . . . through communication, respect, mutual benefits, and understanding? Or from the dough?

And forget what you’ve heard about sweets: Don’t eat dessert first. . . . It’s not good for your heart (or your bottom . . . line).

Did Life Get in the Way… Again?

Did life get in the way– AGAIN? We all have a spark within us. It may sit dormant for many years but it’s never too late and you’re never too old to awaken it and share it with the world and more importantly with YOU!

Your brilliance will delight the world and delight you in all the joy and fulfillment it brings to you. When you’re in “The Zone” – your Brilliance, your Genius Zone, you absolutely know it. It’s a state of pure and utter joy–no ego, no worries, no fears, no competition.

For over 50 years I was keeping myself safe and quiet. As Gay Hendricks describes in his book The Big Leap, I was keeping myself in my Zones of...

Incompetence (what you’re not good at but do anyway)

Competence (what you’re good at and so are a lot of other people), and

Excellence (what you excel at and do for the accolades, money, and ego - not because your passionate it about it)

I was resisting breaking through my glass ceiling and elevating to my Genius Zone - the zone of creativity, joy, pure fulfillment, and happiness. But why?

Each day I found myself deeper in the "Hamster Wheel of Life"– super busy and financially successful but unfulfilled and frustrated. It’s safe to play small. It’s safe to place others ahead of you. It’s safe to not give yourself a voice. And it’s safe to play the victim and make excuses that your life is the result of what others have done to you. But we are all solely responsible for our own happiness.

It took me 50+ years to break into my Genius Zone, place myself first, and live in my Brilliance. Oh, I would dabble in it occasionally, but would sink back down into the safe zones to be “safe” and stroke my ego.

Yet, I had always felt that there was something bigger for me to do, a bigger contribution to make, and I knew the only way to get there was to be in my Genius Zone for extended periods of time.

So, I decided to put myself first and it was hard! As a woman and mother of 4 grown kids and 4 grandkids putting myself first was not what I was taught. It took conscious practice and daily commitment to make the shift.

I started small, making myself the priority first thing in the morning for just one hour rather than attending to others “nigglies” as I call them – all those little nudging requests by clients and family, which you rationalize as being quick and easy to cross off the list but end up consuming your time and sucking you down into the rabbit hole.

Now, I’m “unavailable” until at least 1pm 6 days a week and entirely the 7th day of the week – working and living in my Brilliance, which for me is creating, designing, writing, and painting. My year end goal is to expand that to all of Friday through Monday, and half of Tuesday through Thursday. Think I can do it?

How much time do you spend in your Brilliant or Genius Zone?

Are ready to get out of your Incompetent and Competent Zones altogether?

Are you ready to stop playing safe and small?

Are you ready to give yourself a voice?

Are you ready to bring that spark to life once again and keep it lit for extended periods of time?

Don’t let other peoples lives get in the way of yours anymore.

This is your life - LIVE IT!

Live Your Light!

Where Are You Fishing? In a Blue Ocean or a Red One?

Do you know your competition? How they're marketing? Who their target market is? How they sell?

Good. You should. But that’s not where your focus, time, or energies should be invested.

What if your business could be in a league of its own instead of competing with others in your industry? What if you were setting the pace, creating unique products and living a “Blue Ocean Strategy”?

The term is derived from the book "Blue Ocean Strategy" (Harvard Business Review Press, expanded edition, 2015), by W. Chan Kim and Renee Mauborgne. It describes how companies traditionally work in "red ocean"conditions, where businesses viciously fight against each other for a share of the marketplace. Instead, according to the blue ocean strategy, organizations should find a way to work in a marketplace that is free of competitors.

I know it’s been said that there is no reason to recreate the wheel but we can always make a better wheel! Seriously, look at how many versions of the actual wheel have been created since its inception in the late Neolithic age (9500–6500 BCE). Endless.

I believe the concept of Blue Ocean Strategy begins with an inward perspective - an initial perspective, which many times gets lost. Often businesses begin because they feel they can be better than their competition, and in fact they can. They go into business with all the grandest intentions of changing the norm in their industry, but all too often they fall into… well… the business of being in business. Their grand intentions are forgotten and they slip into “competing” rather than “innovating”.

The logic behind Blue Ocean strategy is innovation, focusing less on competition and more on alternatives. Being creative versus copycat. While we can learn boatloads from past entrepreneurs, business successes and failures, it’s our individual brilliance and creativity we must tap into, hold sacred, and shine for the world to see.

To tap into your potential blue ocean, Kim and Mauborgne argue that businesses and entrepreneurs should consider their "Four Actions Framework." The framework poses four key questions:

Raise: What factors should be raised well above the industry's standard?

Eliminate: Which factors that the industry has long competed on should be eliminated?

Reduce: Which factors should be reduced well below the industry's standard?

Create: Which factors should be created that the industry has never offered?

Kim and Mauborgne said that this exercise forces companies to scrutinize every factor of competition, helping leaders discover the range of assumptions they unconsciously make while competing.

Examples of Blue Ocean Strategy

One popular example of blue ocean strategy is Cirque du Soleil, which achieved revenues that took Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey more than a century to attain.

"Cirque did not make its money by competing within the confines of the existing industry or by stealing customers from Ringling and the others," Kim and Mauborgne wrote in the Harvard Business Review magazine. "Instead, it created uncontested market space that made the competition irrelevant. It pulled in a whole new group of customers who were traditionally noncustomers of the industry — adults and corporate clients who had turned to theater, opera or ballet and were, therefore, prepared to pay several times more than the price of a conventional circus ticket for an unprecedented entertainment experience."

Southwest Airlines is another example. Southwest tapped into a customer base who preferred driving to air travel due to the lower cost. Instead of competing with other airlines, Southwest positioned itself as an alternative to cars and offered reduced prices, improved check-in times and increased flight frequency.

"This new combination created an offering that enabled the customer to benefit from the high traveling speeds of an airplane at low prices combined with the flexibility of traveling by car," Blue Ocean Strategy Partners writes on its website.

So, where are you currently fishing? In a blue ocean or a red one? Are you focused on the competition or on you and your uniqueness? It’s easy to end up in the red ocean, most businesses do. The red ocean is survival and its bloody. The blue ocean is where you’ll THRIVE!