This post is not about marketing. It is not intended for anything other than for me to get a few things off of my chest. Take from it what you will.
When I woke up this morning, I read the news. I probably shouldn’t have, but I did.
I didn’t like what I saw. I’m sure you didn’t, either.
My gut instinct was to begin boarding up my windows and my doors. Right now, sealing my family up from the outside world seems like the best thing I can do, given the circumstances of our current reality. And that’s what this is – reality.
But, it is important to remember that reality is shaped by our actions and inactions. What I do right now, what I react to and what I don’t react to, will shape the reality that I live in. It will also shape the reality of those who depend on me. That is a very heavy thought.
My wife and my children are depending on me to make the right decisions during the next few months. What do we cut from our budget? What luxuries can we easily shed? What necessities can we reduce before we really begin to feel the pain?
And what about my employees? They have wives, husbands, and children, too. I must always remember that my actions and inactions will help shape their reality. Again, the heaviness of this is becoming more real every day, every hour, and every moment that passes.
Finally (and this is very important) – how will my actions and inactions affect the reality of the dozens of businesses that rely on Arcane Marketing for guidance and reassurance during these times? After all, if we falter on our promises to our clients, the pieces of reality will begin to crumble in a chain reaction. What happens to reality then?
Take A Deep Breath
Now, more than ever, it is becoming abundantly clear to me that I have the power to shape reality like never before. This power is awesome in its magnitude. It is a power that I am wielding with the shaking hands of somebody who has never fired a gun in their life but is now required to utilize it for its grim purpose.
I am a certified firearms instructor. I know how to handle a firearm safely and effectively. One of the things I teach my students is proper breath control when applying marksmanship fundamentals. When you hold your breath, you deprive your muscles of oxygen. When this happens, your muscles will begin to shake. Shaking muscles make it impossible to hit your target. To combat this, a shooter must understand that proper breathing during aiming allows them focus on the other fundamentals needed to make an accurate shot. Breathe in, breathe out, slow steady squeeze of the trigger.
Breathe in, breathe out.
Breathe in.
Breath out.
Once you have mastered proper breathing, it is possible to hit your target, even when that target is 1,000+ yards away.
The Take Away
As a nation under distress, we are holding our breath. We are scared. We are nervous. We are fearful. And we are compounding all of this because, like depriving our muscles of oxygen, we aren’t allowing ourselves to shape our reality based off of our fear of the unknown.
If we want to get through all of this, we need to learn how to breathe again. We need to be able to step back and take a breath to allow our muscles and our minds to get that much needed oxygen. After all, when our mind, body, and spirit are given the tools they need to function properly, we’ll have much better control over our reality. We can then shape reality in a positive and productive way.
