[Think As Inc.] February 11, 2008 Newsletter http://ezezine.com Your life is a business. You have a: MISSION: the reasons you live your life; BRAND: the message you project to the world; PRODUCT LINE: the skills and qualities that are your unique assets; BOTTOM LINE: your financial picture; CLIENT BASE: professional, personal, and don’t forget, yourself. Your life is YOUR business, and you are its CEO. IN THIS ISSUE Something to Think About: IT’S NOT JUST BUSINESS, IT’S PERSONAL Something to Do: OIL THE QUIET WHEELS TOO Inspirational Quotes: ALBERT EINSTEIN News and Upcoming Events IT’S NOT JUST BUSINESS, IT’S PERSONAL As CEO of your life, you have clients. In a business, clients are the source of cash revenue. Your life’s clients also provide revenue -- emotional revenue. All clients require time and energy. Because a business relationship between employee and boss has an obvious cash value, most people remember to mind this client. However, we also need to mind our personal clients -- our significant other, family, friends, and ourselves. Do you move around social engagements because of your job? Is every meeting really more important than lunch with a friend, or is it just easier to move your friend? Do you cancel family obligations more readily than work ones? Do you push back on scheduling a vacation because you’re needed at the office, but don’t push back on a project to keep a promise to your kids? Do you keep appointments with yourself to eat a proper breakfast, exercise, feed your passion? “I know for sure that in the final analysis of our lives – when the to-do lists are no more, when the frenzy is finished, when our e-mail boxes are empty – the only thing that will have any lasting value is whether we’ve loved others and whether they’ve loved us.” -- Oprah Winfrey In business, if you don’t care for your clients, they go elsewhere. Relationships need tending. Although personal revenues may not be the quantifiable kind, they often prove more valuable. Would you be more upset about losing a job or a loved one? It’s not just business. It’s personal. Mind your personal clients too. OIL THE QUIET WHEELS, TOO “Whenever I feel like exercise, I lie down until the feeling passes.” -- Robert Maynard Hutchins, writer That quote not only makes me laugh, but also underscores how easy it is to overlook what is important to us. With exercise, if we don’t do it, there is no immediate consequence. We can lie down or read or whatever till that free time for exercise is gone. We may feel a little guilt but otherwise no consequence. It is only much later, after the weight gain, the bad back or the aching knees, that we realize we should have paid more attention. Instead we pay attention to the obvious clients, but not necessarily the most important ones. You might have a very demanding boss who gets all the attention. But other department managers also determine raises and promotions. Other colleagues know the best projects in the pipeline. You don’t spend time with the other managers or colleagues because you’re too busy with immediate demands. A year later, you don’t get the promotion, but don’t know where else to move, and your network is dry. There is a popular saying about the squeaky wheel getting the oil. Of course, you have to fulfill your obligations to your immediate boss, often the squeaky wheel, just not at the expense of quiet but important clients: other management, colleagues past and present, your personal well-being. The temptation is to keep busy and let things take care of themselves. But just as giant businesses can get overtaken by smaller rivals (think Kmart v. Walmart), your life can be determined by clients you took for granted. You don’t want to realize that while you were oiling the squeakiest wheel, it wasn’t on the car headed your target direction. Where do you want to go? What wheels will get you there? Oil the quiet wheels, too. INSPIRATIONAL QUOTE Not everything that counts can be counted, and not everything that can be counted counts. -- Albert Einstein NEWS AND UPCOMING EVENTS I am currently recruiting for a corporate social networking firm in their Project Management and Client Services areas. I am looking for a variety of roles, from 3 years to 10 years of experience. Internet/ tech background, client-facing experience, and strategic/ problem solving skills are needed. A more specific job description is available for each of the positions I am recruiting for. Please email me for more info or to refer qualified candidates: cenizalevine@yahoo.com If you have friends who may want to join the distribution list, please have them visit http://home.ezezine.com/2034/ to sign up. You can also see previous newsletters at that link. All information is copyright © Caroline Ceniza-Levine 2008 www.thinkasinc.com