I am usually never lost for words although it’s true that even the most outgoing of us sometimes lack a little bit of motivation and original ideas.
When I sat down to write this month’s column my mind drew a blank, so rather than staring at an empty screen watching the cursor flash in front of me I decided to take a leaf from my own book, have a break and take next doors Labrador for a walk.
As I stumbled through the dark tripping over all sorts whilst I walked ‘Jack the Dog’ down a bridal path, I managed to switch off from the busy world that we live in and had some amazing ideas, as soon as I got home I wrote them down which in turn gave me the inspiration to write this month’s column. Market Traders are not scared of hard work, FACT, in fact quite the opposite, although I know so many people that just do not know when to take a break…..including once upon a time, myself…..
I first started trading on Markets as a Greengrocer aged 19 and was literally obsessed with having my finger on the pulse of my ‘baby’ every waking hour. Early mornings and late nights were just seen as part of the job and my Christmas’s were spent working extra hard to make sure that everyone else had a good Christmas and then two days later I would be back at it getting ready for the New Year. I saw holidays as a weakness and something that other people did. I worked day and night for almost 7 years until I became engaged to be married and luckily for me, my relationship and especially my business, my good lady pulled rank and booked us a holiday to Spain, nothing fancy, just a week away in a nice hotel near the beach with a pool bar and theme park nearby.
At first I was horrified that anyone could even imagine that I had the time to take a whole week off work, although my better half didn’t give me a choice, so I set to it, clearing the decks of all the jobs I had been putting off ages, some for over two years! You know the kind of job that isn’t super urgent and there is always something else that needs doing, the week before that trip to Spain I got things done and took care of business. I sat down on that plane and I found that instead of worrying, my head was as clear as the blue sky out of my window, as not only had I cleared the decks, I had also managed to put systems in place for someone else to run my business whilst I was away.
I asked myself why I had never done this before, I mean what if I had broken my leg or been taken ill? The plane soon landed in Spain and it is fair to say I had one of the best Holidays of my life, some real quality time with my girlfriend, amazing lies in, walks on the beach and even a few glasses of sangria along with plenty of sun. The one thing that I benefited most from my week away though was the amount of brilliant ideas I had.
I found that when I was at home I was too close to my business to see what was going wrong, therefore how I could improve things? It was great to take a step back, take my foot off the gas and look at things from afar with a fresh pair of eyes. I came back from Spain, motivated, with lots of fresh ideas for my business, I felt refreshed and as eager as my first day down the markets.
So here’s the thing, a challenge if you like, book a holiday, do it now, no excuses, whether it be a Sun £9.50 Holiday to Skegness or a trip to Dubai, it doesn’t matter, get away, away from work, away from everything and I guarantee you will achieve amazing results in your work and personal life on your return.
Well? What are you waiting for?
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@theadamcorbally
AdamCorbally.co.uk