Inspiration: Rebirth

I was out on my back deck this evening and noticed the tree in our neighbor's back yard had gone completely gold. Not yellowed out, not drained, but enriched with a fantastic and beautiful color that brought a boldness and majesty to the scene.

I know that that tree - and Autumn specifically - means that those leaves are dying and will eventually fall off (mostly in my yard) and eventually decay, but I was in awe of it for just a moment as I realized it was the hallmark of rebirth.

In order for you to have REbirth, there must first be a death. And perhaps this post will be reposted in Spring, but for now let's take a look at those leaves.

As a tree grows, as it passes from Spring to Summer, those leaves are its tools: they are the sole engines of photosynthesis that turn CO2 and sunlight into overall growth for the lifeform that is that tree. And that tree grows. This time of year, those tools wary and fall to the ground to be replaced in a few months in that cycle that never ends until the death of that tree.

We can take a lesson from that tree, both in business and in life.

We find life in our personal interactions, using the tools we have gained since childhood. We find business growth in the tools we have learned and fostered and those have helped us grow. But every once in a while, we need to purge.

So this Autumn, as you see the wonders of nature change into modes of color you could only imagine, take a look at your own tools, your own conventions. Drop them all and start a list: what worked for you this last year? What didn't? What do you need to change?

Discard those things that soured your growth, that stunted it. Pick up new tools and ideas and theories on sustenance. Start fostering your new ideas, take the ones that worked with a fresh insight, and GROW!

You can wait until Spring, but why put it off that long? After all, you're not a tree :)