I just finished teaching my first two sessions created from my newest book Ponder This. It was an exercise in pausing and pondering business and life.
As participants were leaving, they told me, “This was great – very provocative!” and “Wow – that was the fastest two hours ever. They flew by. I think we could have sat there another hour talking!”
After reflecting on the sessions (which were filled with new, mid-length, and long-term entrepreneurs), I learned (or re-learned) a few lessons:
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I acknowledge finding/making/creating the time to pause and ponder business (and life) can be difficult – everyone has a lot on their plate.
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I honor and respect business owners who DO purposefully make the time.
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It is hugely valuable to create a safe space for people to gather.
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Giving entrepreneurs an opportunity to voice their feelings, concerns, and issues matters. A lot.
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Choosing a random question first can open up an area of “stuckness” that a business owner didn’t consciously realize was there. One participant said having a specific phrase from the question helped her frame her frustration – hugely useful!
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I was amazed at how appropriate the questions were for so many of the participants. It was like the questions chose the people.
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Ending a session with some action steps AND gratitude makes everything better.
These sessions were FUN – I shared my background and why questions mattered to me. I shared some research about what questions can do and what they ask of us. Then, I passed around a basket with the 104 questions from Ponder This. I asked everyone to pick two and then choose which one they wanted to share and discuss.
The collective wisdom in the room was pretty great. Being able to talk about what was working and what wasn’t in a safe space felt like a breath of fresh air to me. Starting with questions instead of problems both helped bring out areas of “stuckness” and allowed everyone in the room to participate.
I’m considering doing monthly Ponder This sessions online using a great conference tool called Zoom. Would you be interested in participating? If so, sign up to receive the Ponder This questions and I’ll send out an invite to the group for an end of October/early November session. I’d love to have you play along!
The long and short of this is: there’s value in pausing from working IN your business to ponder what wants to happen WITH your business.
When you’re ready, I’m here to help!
Angie