Have You “Gotten Lost”?
I was watching Joel Osteen's Sunday service this week with my family like we do on most Sunday mornings. The message title was "#533, Go After the Prodigals" and focused on bringing back those who have "gotten lost" and are no longer going to church. I'm usually tuned into his messages of prosperity and abundance, but this one rubbed me the wrong way. Maybe because I felt like he was talking to me and I disagreed!
You see, I used to be an avid churchgoer. I went through a good part of my teenage years proselytizing and witnessing to others about the word of God. I'll spare you the details, but somewhere along the line I decided to take a different, more spiritual path not connected to a particular religion. I think of myself as a freelancer when it comes to religion, taking philosophies and approaches from different beliefs in order to shape my world.
Can You Handle the Seasons of Your Professional Life?
I recently re-discovered the song "Landslide" by Fleetwood Mac. Although this song is about personal relationships, there's one line that resonates with me because it also can relate to our careers: "Can I handle the seasons of my life?".
Our professional lives go through seasons that don't necessarily correlate with seasons of the year. Unfortunately, we often get fixated on the sexy side of Spring and Summer and dread the slower times of Fall and Winter. Can you handle those slower seasons of your professional life?
I was recently chatting with a friend about her business. She mentioned that she was really busy now after somewhat of a dryspell. I mentioned that there is a feast or famine side to being in business for yourself and that the famine part is no fun.
It's true. I am guilty of feeling that way as well sometimes.
Think People Don’t Care What CEOs Do?
Since my business is focused on Web design and development, I have seen a barrage of posts about the recent GoDaddy CEO elephant hunting video. For those that don't know, GoDaddy is well-known for their risque commercials to help promote, of all things, Web site hosting. They are also a VERY popular provider of many services related to the Web.
I have to admit that I do see both sides of the story. He was participating in the hunt as a part of a normal ritual to get rid of problem elephants and provide food for others. However, the video was quite graphic and involved hunting an endangered animal that many of us don't think of as a choice for providing sustenance. I'm not here to judge either side's motives.
Instead, I wanted to focus on the underlying message. PETA is encouraging people to move their Web sites away from GoDaddy. And Change.org has a petition that has been signed by over 3,500 people at the time of this blog post. There are many companies offering discounts and specials to GoDaddy customers that want to move their accounts. (Full disclosure: My company also jumped on the bandwagon with an offer to donate some of our hosting fees to PETA.)
I found these "urgings to move" to be interesting for several reasons:
- CEOs that are well-known (almost celebrities) will be under more scrutiny when it comes to their personal lives.
- Things that business owners do that are unrelated to their business have an effect on what their customers think of their business.
- Even though we may not word it this way, we do care about the Spirit of the company and that of the person who is running it.
Bottom line, as business owners we all have to be on our p's and q's. The Internet makes it easy for people to watch your every move. My Spirit Driving Institute blog provides an outlet for me to voice my opinions on issues like this. I know how important it is to act with integrity because I never know who is watching. The same is true for my primary business.
What do you think? How much does a CEO's personal actions weigh on your opinion of the company?
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About the Author
~ Leila Johnson, Founder of Spirit Driving Institute and Creator of the Drive. Align. Shift. Program
~ author of Driving to Success: Let Your Spirit Take the Wheel
~ co-owner of VelaMira, Inc. dba Data-Scribe®, a full-service Web and communications firm
~ mom, wife, foodie
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