I Can Always Learn Something.

Recently I attended a free social media seminar with my husband and business partner. I used to attend seminars like this one regularly but in the last few years I found myself skipping them time and again. I'd tell myself, “I bet it's just a sales pitch or I just don’t have time.” 

Or, quite frequently, “what will I hear that I haven't heard at a thousand other business seminars?” In other words what do I have left to learn?

   In the early days at KJB I gobbled up every free seminar I could. Labor laws, hiring practices, accounting information, advertising lectures, there was so much to learn and it was all so exciting! Time went on and I joined professional groups that refined my focus on the particular business challenges my company faced. I made great friends and network contacts but the day-to-day grind of leadership caused cynicism to creep in. During 15 years of business leadership I've learned that there is a time for everything – including a time to think big and a time to sweat the small stuff. In 2015 the day to day operations of KJB Security required a LOT of small stuff sweating. Finally, I realized that focusing two steps ahead made me long for the days when running a business seemed so exciting. I really missed the opportunity to learn and grow and get others' insights on day to day problems. I wanted to see more than two steps ahead... I wanted to see the horizon again.

  My way to do that was to get out of the corner office and back in the classroom – the business seminar classroom that is. Which brings me back to my recent outing to the social media seminar. Did I hear anything I'd heard before? Of course, but that's not the point.... the point is tat putting myself in a mindset of learning brought new energy, new excitement back to KJB. Like the captain that turns her ship and crew toward uncharted waters, it's not about what you already know.... it's about what you might learn. My new mid-year resolution is to look for seminars and learning opportunities that I might otherwise have tossed away.

Sure, the invites that come in might be sales pitches.

And yeah, my time will always be at a premium.

But who cares? Because if I've learned anything it's that I can always learn something.