What are you – male or female?

We all stood up, hugged each other, and left the office. The only thing left to do was wait for Miguel’s answer. So, I went about my business trying to appear as normal as I could…but inside I was a nervous wreck!

Suddenly, I felt very foolish. Who did I think I was anyway? I mean…we’d only just met a few weeks ago, and had only spent a few days together. And perhaps the most important thing of all is that we couldn’t really communicate with one another.

Have you ever been hit squarely in the nose with a really hard object? A stinging, throbbing pain radiates out like fireworks; in this case with Daniel’s blood.

Daniel came running off the court screaming. He looked up at me and declared, “I will NEVER play basketball again!” In fact, his declaration in that moment was made with a deeper level commitment than when he proudly wrote his name on the application to play.

I was at one of the parental forks in the road. There was a part of me that wanted nothing more than to swoop him up in my arms and protect him from the dangers of basketball, Ian’s lanky limbs and big head and every other danger known to man.

Little did I know that this would serve as a mere pittance of the brutalities Daniel would face on his journey later in life as an adolescent.

There is something deeply instinctual about wanting to protect my children that resides in the core of my being. It is reflexive and all encompassing when it’s triggered.

Another part of me knew that if I fanned the flame of Daniel’s fear and allowed him to quit, he would most likely walk away from that experience learning that it’s o.k. to give up. These two distinct parts within me were engaged in a full out war in that moment.

I looked down at Daniel’s bloody tear stained face and opened my mouth to speak. Even I didn’t know the words I was about to utter. “Honey, I know it hurts… reeaaaly bad. I know you’re scared, and in this moment, you don’t want to ever play basketball again.

“I also know that you made a commitment and that your team is counting on you.

“We’re going to go to the restroom, wash your face and get you all cleaned up. You can drink some water and take a little rest. And then, Honey, you are going go back in there and play, because, Daniel, I have faith in you.”

His red swollen face with puffy eyes looked up at me through the tears.

“I can do it” I cheered myself – just take it to the dump, how hard is that?

“Do you need a vest or a hard hat?” She questioned at the front office weighing station.

You are going to spend at least one third to one half of YOUR LIFE working. So why not make it something that gives you joy?

Today’s article is about looking at your business not just as a ‘cash machine’ or a form of revenue generation, but more of something that becomes an extension of you…and your life’s mission. Deep stuff I know, but since we are gonna be putting in all those hours, at the end of the day, let’s find a way to make it matter.

Since this article is not your basic Marketing 101 type of article, I want to set up in the beginning who I’m writing to.

If you are the kind of business owner who understands that in some ways your business is like your ministry, I’m talking to you. If you feel called to fully express your gifts through your business, I’m talking to you. If it’s important to you to serve as many people as you can, I’m talking to you. And if you are passionate about leaving a legacy – then you are my people…So let’s get going…

Business as Your Ministry –

I’m not referencing here the traditional or religious sense of the word ministry. To me it means that you know that your soul’s purpose is being expressed through your business and the services that you provide. One of the definitions of ministry is “the act of serving.” You may be a coach or speaker or own a store. Your work can be done consciously or unconsciously. You can look for ways where you can show up more fully and be of greater service, or it can just be a way to collect a paycheck. You get to decide.

That’s the absolute first step. If you have the sense that your business is like your personal ministry, you stand in the knowing that you are here to serve and are committed to that. From that level of commitment and decision, everything else falls into place.

Fully Expressing Your Gifts –

We are here to make a difference in people’s lives. (OK, that may be my belief, but I like it and am keeping it!) Your business becomes effortless when you express your gifts in the world, instead of trying to be what other people want you to be. This is where fulfillment lives, where passion lives, and its cute little down the street neighbor, Fun, lives!

First you have to know what your gifts are. And a big hint…what you think is easy and comes naturally and likely gets overlooked as “Doesn’t everyone have that?” – That’s YOUR gift. Take an inventory of what you do easily that your clients are really blown away by. Notice your passion-meter. What gets you juiced to talk about or do? Show up more fully in your business and you’ll not only enjoy it more, but you’ll also attract the RIGHT kind of clients who will resonate with your unique energy, AND you’ll also make more money doing it.

Stuck on what your gifts are? Ask! Survey your clients or close friends/mastermind partners and ask what they see that you are gifted at. You will probably be surprised at what they see that you have overlooked. Next – assign a value to what they say that your gifts are. You have to really own how much impact you have, so discovering what your gifts are worth is a huge step in gaining entrepreneurial confidence! When you really get clear about how much value you bring, raising your rates and being paid what you are worth will be easy.

Leaving a Legacy –

What will your footprint be? When you are gone, how will you be remembered? By the lives you touched? For the contributions you made? From the children you so tenderly raised?

Is legacy something that you strive for, or a thing that just happens when you show up and do your work in the world?

It’s my belief that sometimes we get so bogged down with the daily ‘to-do’ list that it’s easy to forget that we are here to make a difference. What would change in your business if you regularly tapped into that place in you that could hold the longer vision of what’s possible.

This legacy stuff on one hand feels a bit big and scary. But on the other hand, it can be energizing when you tap into the knowledge that your ideas and contributions will outlive you. I remember years ago meeting a copywriter and her big dream was “to be an influence.” It hadn’t occurred to me at the time that my scope was any broader that the local folks I was working with, but her soul knew that her purpose here was to influence how people thought and to help them open up to new possibilities.

What will it be for you? It’s not something I want you to ‘work’ at or stress over, but do give it some thought. If you create that new product, can you see the ripple effect? Imagine that 100 people work with you, and that work effects 10 of their friends, and five more down the road, in their networks. Can you see the endless possibilities?

So my wish for you, my dear reader, is to really do some thinking about the meaning of your business and the difference you make in the world because of it. Own your vision in a big way! We need that from you.

For more information and inspiration about how you can create a business that serves your life and leaves a legacy, I’d invite you to visit my website at www.HappyInBusiness.com.

Who would’ve believed it? Certainly not me! But there I was on an airplane, this time by myself, returning to Honduras one week after cleaning up the mess on my kitchen floor. My year of “no” had quickly turned into “yes, yes.” This time, however, the purpose of the trip was wholly different. This time I was looking forward to conversing with the Honduran landscape. This time I couldn’t wait to leave the bustling Tegucigalpa streets. This time when the bus door flung open I would be scanning the crowd of children for someone who I’d hoped would be looking for me too.

After getting settled, the three of us sat in Chris’ office in a triangle formation—Miguel’s seat formed the triangle’s head leaving Chris and me to form the bottom vertices. Every detail of this moment is etched in my mind owing not only to the torrential rain of my first Honduran rainy season, but because I was a father looking at his son for the first time.

Traditionally fathers meet their children in the delivery room, or pressed against the maternity ward room window, but not me. When I met my child he was 11 years old, was born from a mother I didn’t know, lived in a different country, and couldn’t understand a word from my native tongue.

Montaña de Luz is an organization that cares for children living with HIV/AIDS, and though some of the children who live there are without parents, it is not an orphanage. So, what was I doing sitting in the director’s office asking Miguel if I could be his adoptive father? Even now as I think about it I am struck by how completely courageous each of us were on that day…me for returning to Honduras, Chris for facilitating the conversation, and Miguel for sitting there without the faintest idea of what was happening.

After a bit of small talk we finally arrived at the meeting’s purpose…“Miguel, es difícil decírtelo, pero algo muy sorprendente me pasó cuando nos conocimos. La razón que estoy aquí de nuevo es preguntarte si ¿te gustaría ser mi hijo adoptivo?” Chris translated my words for Miguel. Indeed it was difficult to tell him of the surprising thing that happened when we met that was the reason why I was there again so soon! I wanted to know if he would like to be my son—if I could be his father.

Once the words were spoken the room was eerily quiet. Nobody moved for what seemed quite a long while. It felt as if all the air had been sucked out of the room and left us suspended in our triangle formation. The only sound to be heard were the juicy raindrops dancing on the rooftop.

I looked over at Chris and she was crying. I looked over at Miguel and he began to cry. And finally, the tears that had stung my eyes from the moment I realized my life had changed forever finally began to flow down my face. Finally, Miguel broke the silence, “Necesito tiempo pensar. ¿Puedo decirles mañana?”

My heart stopped. I didn’t need anyone to translate that for me, I understood completely. “¡Sí, claro!” I say to him hurriedly. Of course he could have time to think about it and give us his decision tomorrow. But, what if after all that he says thank you but no thank you? Gosh, I hadn’t considered that option!

On that day I learned that fatherhood was a lesson in patience. But you know what? If I had raised him for 11 years, that is exactly the response I would’ve taught him to give to a question of such magnitude. So, even though I was scared out of my mind, I looked over at my son…and felt—for the first time in my life—an abundance of fatherly pride.

…to be continued…

Use this discussion board/blog to post your insights. Read and discuss the insights of others. Go for it!!!

Hydroponics is growing fresh veggies, fruits or herbs without soil just

I decided this was an opportunity to encourage Daniel’s new found enthusiasm for sports, but also wanted to seize the moment to teach a lesson about commitment. I think it’s in the fabric of parental DNA to cram as many lessons as possible into one experience.