When I was a freshman in high school, we had to take a mandatory class in typing. I attended an all-boys high school, and virtually all of us complained bitterly every day in that class. The requirement of the class was that we learn to type at least 40 words per minute. All of it seemed so painful and horrible at the time.
Today, as I reflect on that “painful and horrible” typing class experience, I realize exactly how valuable those lessons were to my success in life. Typing term papers in college, typing correspondences when I couldn’t afford an assistant, typing proposals and orders when I couldn’t afford a CSR, typing my emails and social media posts, even typing this blog.
I am sure you can think of lessons in your life that seemed painful and horrible at the time that have benefited you eventually.
Flash-forward to today. There is no doubt that many people in business are experiencing painful and seemingly horrible times. In many ways, with the current pandemic, we are all in the same class together.
Let me encourage all of us to look past whatever pain we are experiencing now, and find the valuable lessons we are learning. Lessons like:
- Pivoting to new products and services
- Learning new sales approaches in a virtual world
- Finding new opportunities these new challenges are creating
- Making key adjustments to survive and thrive
All of these lessons and more are helping make all of us better business people and making our businesses better businesses.
