One of my son’s favourite books is Stuck by Oliver Jeffers. It’s also one of my favourites to read to him. If you don’t have kids or you have never read it, here’s a quick preview: A boy name Floyd gets his kite stuck in a tree. In order to get it out, he throws first one shoe and then another into the tree. Both get stuck. When he gets a ladder – and then promptly throws it into the tree (and it gets stuck) – the game’s afoot. Floyd continues to hoist objects into the tree, each more ridiculous than the previous one – the family car, the neighbours house, a curious whale, a firetruck. Naturally, they all get stuck. Ultimately when the kite falls out (because the tree is too full), he had completely forgotten about it. He promptly goes to play with it, forgetting about all the other objects stuck in the tree.
The story of Floyd has been…well, stuck in my brain for a while now. When the COVID-19 pandemic shut down our city, closed our country’s borders and brought much of the world to a standstill my business – only a few months old – came to a complete standstill, stuck in a tree. With three children under five and having just moved into our home, we had our hands full. As in full-time. All of the momentum, focus and energy of growing a new business was redirected towards surviving isolation, protecting our family, and taking one day at a time. And for a long time, it was the same day, over and over again, endlessly on repeat.
When the curve started flattening, restrictions began easing, and time began to – very slowly – move forward again, I looked up at the tree where I had lost my business and saw so many other things stuck up there too. All the momentum, business planning, postponed work, networking events and more. It was hard to even recall what I was doing before the pandemic hit. And knowing that so much had to change in this new reality – in how my business would operate, in how I would interact with clients, in how I would cultivate new business, in the needs of my clients – the feeling was overwhelming.
Stuck.
I’ve thrown so many things in that tree – unhelpful things that had nothing to do with getting my business going again. Things hoisted out of frustration, doubt, uncertainty, and distraction. It is so easy to lose focus when you are stuck. And then, one day out of the tree it fell. I’d like to say it was only Ten Days Later…but it’s been a bit longer than that. That’s okay. It’s time to pick it up, dust it off, and get back to work.
And it starts with a story. This story. We all have stories to tell, our businesses have stories that are worth sharing. The struggles of navigating the pandemic, how we have endured, and how we’re changing for the future – and perhaps, hopefully, for the better.
Your stories may not all have endings yet. You may not know which stories you need to tell. And you may not know how – or don’t have the time – to tell it.
Ten Days Later is here, now, to help you get that particular kite out of your tree. Book your free consultation today.
