Life’s a beach, right? Yeah, right!

I live by the beach. I love the beach. I go there absolutely every day, rain or shine, hail or snow, frost or wind. I’ll be there. Usually first thing in the morning. For me, it’s the absolutely bestest way to start every day.

This past weekend I decided I was going to do a long walk along the coastline. Last time I’d walked this particular piece of coastline it was an easy walk mostly along smooth sand with the occasional rocky outcrop to meander over. That was before last winter.

So on this particular morning just prior to sunrise I was dropped off around 18kms from my home intending to enjoy the same walk. My welcome to the beach was wonderful watching the sun rise over the sea and bringing colour into the dark seascape. About 10 minutes into my walk the smooth sand stopped. Replaced by rocks. That’s ok I thought, the sea’s obviously washed the sand away during the storms. I kept going and going and going, up and down over the rocks, jumping rock pools and splits in the rock. I certainly didn’t anticipate what eventuated. You see, so much sand had been washed away from that particular piece of coastline that I walked for nearly a couple of hours mostly all over rocks. At one point I even had to backtrack and find a route off the beach as the deep gulches in the rocks were impassable.

Finally, to my relief, I can to a long stretch of wonderfully smooth, sparkly white sand. Ooh the relief. And you know what, it was so much easier. The flow was smoother. My pace quickened. I could finally relax and enjoy my walk!

And it got me to thinking. Our lives and our businesses can be like that. We encounter obstacle after obstacle, challenge after challenge. And we continue, as I did, expecting them not to last very long. Sometimes they last longer than we expect. Sometimes the challenge becomes too great.

Sometimes our progress would be improved with some assistance. Often times we continue doggedly alone rather than asking for support. Although I’d chosen to walk alone so I could enjoy the peace and solitude, there were moments when I wished I had company as I was choosing the safest route along the rocky outcrops into the sea.

As a reminder that help is always readily available if only we ask or choose to accept an offer made to us … here’s a client attraction cheatsheet to help you get to know your ideal client more intimately.