Today I went for a walk by the river and decided to park myself on a bench to do some inner reflection as I often do. A woman in her 80s walked by, smiled, and decided to join me on the bench for a chat about life while we baked in the sunshine we both love so much. I listened to her story, knowing that when a stranger makes contact with you in such a way, there is probably a lesson to be learned. I thought about it for much of the afternoon wondering what that lesson might be, and then it became apparent that a dominant thought was running through my head from our conversation. She said to me, "There, I've told you my life story, now you tell me yours". I didn't give her much of a story, I only smiled kindly, and have since been thinking about what it is I want to achieve in life and in my business, and what kind of story I would like to tell.

I must say the sunny summer months have been a distraction from my business, but perhaps this is an excuse for not seeing as many positive results lately than I had seen initially when I was working a little harder at it. There is not one of us who hasn't reached a point in our lives when we question what we are doing in life, work, love, or business, and wonder if it's worth carrying on, or time to give up. How do we get back to business when we reach this point of questioning and doubt?

I think it's important that we first understand ourselves, and our desires and dreams. When we stay centered and focused on what it is we really want out of life and in business that dream vacation, the fancy car, the love of our lives, lots of babies then all we have to do is decide what actions we are going to take to makes those dreams a reality for us. The mistake that most people make is that they have a dream in mind, and they stop there, so that they are left with a life that is nothing but a dream. To propel and push us towards what we want, we must take action by taking positive steps in that direction every day.

Once we know what we want, and are taking steps to get there, it can be very frustrating and discouraging to find out that our results are not happening as quickly as we anticipated, or maybe we are not seeing results at all. When you get into a business, a relationship, or when you plant a garden, you must know from the outset that these things take time to grow, that there is maintenance involved, and you have to nurture what you build. You must realize the possibility that things may not work out as planned, that there will be good times and bad, periods of healthy growth, and periods of draught.

Many of us try to stay positive when things aren't working out as we had hoped, but the lack of results can be draining especially when we have worked so hard at it already. When we are drained, we start to lose energy and focus, eventually losing hope and desire. We come up with excuses as to why things are not working out and we revert to doing what is comfortable for us, rather than what propels us forward. Most of us will acknowledge from the start that yes, there will be ups and downs in this business, but then when things aren't happening for us, we get into a negative downward spiral of thoughts and emotions that discourage us from getting where we want to go.

We want to put a stop to this feeling of "I give up", but how when we have lost all of our creative juices and our distractions have us frozen in time? It is times like these that we have to stop and listen to our inner selves. We must ask ourselves if what we are doing is truly what we want. If it is, then bravo! All you need to do is what you know it will take to get there, or face the consequences of being stuck in a negative rut that will lead to giving up, and will lead to the ensuing misery that goes along with failing to realize your dreams.

If it's not what you truly want, then discover what is, and take action to get there. Many of us go through life not really knowing what we want, or thinking we know what we want, when really it is something completely different. That's why it's so crucial to take the time to know ourselves and re-evaluate things when they're not going our way. If we don't, we will find ourselves repeating the same negative experiences that we never found our way out of because we didn't take the time to find out who we really are. If we stay positive, focused, and commit to working towards what we want, there will be no quitting!

Thinking back to the lady on the bench today, I have to say she's brought back a little of my spark that first got me excited about this business. I want my business to be part of my success story someday, so it's time for me to get going and take action. There, I've told you a wee bit of my story, now tell me yours