If you’ve been reading this blog for any period of time, or following my personal account on Twitter (@HJudeBoudreaux), you know how much I’ve loved watching my 13 month old daughter grow. It has been an incredible experience. Now, she’s starting to walk and explore her world in a new way. I often find myself reflecting on the lessons I seem to be learning from her every day.
- Big progress comes from small lessons. She’s a pretty good walker for being 13 months old, and I saw that progress happen organically. It might feel like it happened in a flash but it was a series of steps from rolling over, to kneeling, crawling, standing, and then walking holding on to things.
- Clap for yourself. Every new task learned is met with incredible enthusiasm from my wife and I. It’s wonderful to see her smile and take pride in the new things she’s learning. She’s learned to clap and is quick to give herself some applause when she finally conquers a new task.
- You’re going to fall down. A lot. Just because she’s done something once doesn’t mean that she can sit down and do it again. Sometimes she gets frustrated with that (sorry honey, you get that from me), but most of the time she simply picks herself up and tries again.
- It’s ok to ask for help. She’s finally reaching the age where she understands she can ask for help with things, and I’m glad to help her. She watches intently and while she’s got the attention span of a 13 month old I can see her trying to do the things that I’ve shown her.
I see her doing the above things over and over, and it’s wonderful to watch as a parent. My wife and I are patient and supportive of her as she plays and explores.
Yet, I have no patience for myself with my own growth and exploration.
I’m naturally a long-term thinker, which is a wonderful thing to have in your financial planner. It does drive me crazy that the future that I envision doesn’t quickly happen. It frustrates me to no end when I can’t pick up a new piece of software and instantly be an expert at it.
So, starting today I’m going to be mindful of these 3 lessons I’ve learned from my daughter and try to apply them to my business and my life.
- Take a small step. It’s really easy to lose sight of this in our financial lives. It’s natural to want to search for large changes, but those large changes often come from small steps. Where can you take a small, meaningful step in your financial life towards something worthwhile?
- Who can help? Is there a mentor, friend, or family member that can help you learn that new behavior? Can you and your partner help each other learn and grow together?
- Celebrate the wins. When I was involved with the Entrepreneur’s Organization Accelerator program, Scott Fritz would remind us at the end of every meeting (and regularly within our companies) to celebrate the wins. How are you celebrating the milestones that you’re reaching? Give yourself some applause!
