Hello again! Happy June! It started off so warm and sunny, but has now gone quite cold and dreary. But on Tuesday, it was sunny, so we meandered around Burbage Edge, here in the Peak District. I’d never been before, so it was nice to walk somewhere new. Also somewhere quite peaceful, with very few people. Quite chilly, though – we both wore our fleeces on this walk, zipped up, until the very end. Craziness.
I’ve been doing quite a bit of soul searching this month on where I want my business to go and how to best get there. I’ve added a member to the team, and I’ve signed up for another training course (which will be on top of the main one I’m doing still). I have an idea, and hopefully the new course will help me flesh out a proper plan in its first few weeks. It begins on the 7th of July.
My walk along the Sett Valley Trail earlier this month helped me clear my head and get some guidance, as well as inspiration.
These drifts of seeds along the edge of the path were something I’d never seen before. The seeds that float through the air in spring and summer look like wisps of nothing made of white when floating through the air, and yet they add up.
Great things are done by a series of small things brought together.
Vincent Van Gogh
I have several mountains between me and the goals I’ve set, but as long as I keep moving, every day, I will get there. Bit by bit.
That said, we celebrated our 11th wedding anniversary this week by taking the week off. One of us even got paid for it! Hopefully back to it next week recharged and raring to go. I’ve caught up with a few friends this week, and that’s been fabulous. Also spent time with Chris, of course, and read quite a bit.
This week I finished “Dreams Do Come True” by Katherine Grainger. There’s no spoiler alert on that sticker on the front cover, so you know how it ends before you begin. So inconsiderate. Anyway, I’ve never paid attention to rowing a day in my life, in line with the rest of sports. Thus, I read this autobiography of Great Britain’s joint most decorated female Olympian with no preconceptions. (It was chosen in my business book club.) It’s full of so many great quotes and lessons; I really recommend it. For now, I will choose this one:
I felt lucky that we had such a fantastic project ahead of us and wanted to make the most of it. As in every job there were so many areas that we could look at and find ways to improve. … In a way the feeling that we had endless areas to work on and improve was very exciting to me. Of course it meant that there was a challenge ahead, but wasn’t that what made every day interesting?
Katherine Grainger, “Dreams Do Come True”
So my mountains ahead are not by any means insurmountable obstacles; they are the journey, they are the fantastic projects, they are the things that will keep life interesting for the next year or two. Here’s to success in all our endeavors – not just mine, but yours, too.
What lies behind you and what lies in front of you, pales in comparison to what lies inside of you.
Ralph Waldo Emerson
I’ll close with some more photos from my recent walks.
