I’ve struggled with being open about this because the memory still makes me feel a bit grimy, but I feel it’s time to come out with it.
I once bought a set of Pilates DVDs off the internet. There, I said it.
It was a while ago. Long before I ran my first half marathon, long before I got serious about my horse riding and definitely years before I started to box. I remember it well. I was on the couch (typical) watching telly and saw an ad for these AMAZING DVDs that would totally “change my life”. Cue sucker as GT forks over her cash. I used them once. For about 15 minutes. That was it.
There is one moral and one alone from this story. Nobody can do it for you. Repeat, NOBODY can do it for you.
In life and in business, when we’re in a hard place most of us just want to get out of there as soon as humanly possible, for as little effort as we can manage. It could be dealing with staff issues, it could a change in business strategy, and it could be facing up to things which are holding you back. It could be all of these at once. I don’t know about you, but I am guilty of wishing someone would sweep in and do all of these unpleasant things for me. As my brother would say, “Sorry darlin’ that just aint gonna happen.”
I bought those damned DVDs because they sold me a perception, and image of what I wanted, which was to be fitter and happier. I don’t actually think that at the moment of purchase I realised it would mean I had to DO anything MYSELF. But it wasn’t until a couple of years later when I started to run and take responsibility for myself, that I found the shape and level of fitness I was after.
Here at gtmedia central we’ve been growing at a rate of knots. This is a happy dilemma to have but it places challenges on the business and on the team which, if left unaddressed become a curse rather than a blessing. I put my hand up and say I was secretly hoping that someone would come along in the middle of the night and address the stuff I’ve been addressing over the past three months. Welcome to Fantasy Island GT…
It didn’t happen and it never will. But here’s the thing. Once I got out from under my desk and dealt with the stuff I was intimidated by, it ceased being a giant in my land. AND it’s great experience to fall back for next time, because as surely as a cyclist shaves their legs you can bet that the same challenges will come around the mountain again, sometime soon. And the last thing you want to be falling back on is a set of dodgy Pilates DVDs from Demtel…
