How to Avoid Getting Derailed

It was supposed to be a surprise.  He guessed it but it didn’t matter, we felt were sneaking out of school!   I had made plans so that the kids were taken care of, kept my schedule clear and we had the whole day to celebrate his birthday!  Bliss!

After a lazy breakfast overlooking the port; the sounds of the rigging chiming in the wind, our catching up, realizing how busy our day to day is; we don’t get to talk enough!

Then we headed into the city and set off to our Segway tour.  It’s an amazing machine, the Segway; so sensitive to our movement, so reactive.  Once you lean forward gently, trusting your balance and the machine, you can go at quite a speed.  Moving your hips, shoulders and knees you easily maneuver left and right and easing back, you slow down.  If you panic or get unbalanced, it’s gets wobbly and you can really lose direction.

I realized it’s just like the entrepreneurial journey!  When you lean forward with clear intention, trust and determined, clear action, you create a momentum that really moves along and allows for fast and exciting growth and development.

When you get into panic and fear, it all goes crazy and you can get easily derailed.

So much is reliant upon your confidence and balance.  Isn’t that the truth!!!

The tour guide told us that it’s actually quite difficult to fall off a Segway.  I wondered; could that be true of our journey in business too?  Could the dangerous actions that result in us getting derailed in business be similar to the moves that would result in falling off the Segway?

Here’s what I came up with –

1. If you underestimate the other Segways around you, don’t pay attention to their speed, you can easily bump into them.  Well, if you don’t pay attention to your market, notice what people actually need and what the trends are, you can stop offering the service or product that people really want.

1. If you don’t estimate the size of the wheels while going through a small gap, you will crash.  It’s just like keeping control of your outgoings and making sure that your business is scaled well; making smart investments and outlays but not losing control of your expenses.   This is crucial to entrepreneurial success.

1. If you hit a really huge bump, you may fall off!  The trick is to avoid the really big ones!  There are always going to be bumps along the way in business, but if you can see them coming, anticipate them before they show up, the chances are you can avoid them.

Well, we had a spectacular day.  My lesson on the Segway, was truly a business lesson for me.  And I got some sun, fresh sea air and quality time with my man!  Can’t beat that!

What lessons do you take from this story?  Please leave a comment below!