Are you lost?

Last night my mom was driving over to my house with my dad. Now earlier in the day I had given my mom directions, again, to drive over on the streets versus the freeway. I had repeated the instructions to her more than once. My dad fell asleep and during that time my mom proceeded to get lost. She spent two hours driving around in circles. Instead of pulling over and calling me when she first got lost so that I could guide her, she just kept driving around and around. Finally she called me and explained that she was lost. I told her to immediately pull over and tell me where she was. I told her to stay put and that I would go to where she was and she could then follow me back to my house. Of course we made it to my house with no problems, because I knew where I was going.

This got me thinking about some of the people I have come across who tell me that they are lost in their business. They are unsure where they are going and continue to go around in circles without really accomplishing much except using up their time and money and getting nowhere. My first response to them is to stop. If you don't know where you are going the first thing you need to do is get directions. You shouldn't ask just any person for directions, but you should ask someone who knows their way around. Once you have those directions, follow them closely. If you don't, you will end up lost again. Once you follow the directions, you should be headed on the right track to end up at your destination, which should be a successful business.

My husband hates to ask for directions, which is his prerogative, but we always end up taking longer to get to our destinations because he is so hard headed. Now on the other hand, I don't mind asking for help if I am lost. Why? I would rather put out the time or money at the beginning to get to where I am going correctly then waste my resources trying to figure it out on my own. It doesn't make me less of a person for asking, it just makes me a smarter person because I had the forethought to extend my hand out for help. People are willing to help you out, but you have to ask for it and you have to really want that help.

The next time you are headed somewhere, whether it is in your personal or business life, make sure you have directions and that you follow them or you might end up lost. Oh, and one more thing, enjoy the journey to your destination. That's always the fun part.