Connecting The Dots

I have been very busy for the past few days because one of my key personnel resigned from her post to continue further studies. Since I haven’t been receiving any qualified applicants, I had no choice but to temporarily take over her duties and responsibilities.

This meant I had to pass over some of my freelance projects, reset my appointments, change my daily routine and sacrifice some of my leisure time to work for my business. I must admit, it’s been quite tiring and stressful.

Whenever I experience such hard times, I would always say to myself that this must be happening for a reason. I try to stay positive and believe that somehow, there’s an opportunity that will come or a lesson that I should learn during these difficulties.

This has happened to me several times in my life – sudden twists of fate, reversal of fortunes and unforeseen circumstances.

During these moments, it was so tempting to conclude that life is hard and unfair, but I didn’t. Because months or even years after that phase in my life, I would suddenly realize and appreciate the value of that experience. Yes, in the end, it would all make sense.

Just like the time when I resigned from my second job and it took me almost four months to find new work. To make use of my free time, I invested all of my savings in a multi-level marketing company and went full-time recruiting members.

Unfortunately, I was only able to get a few downlines and the commissions I received was not enough to sustain my financial needs.

Looking back, I now see the value of that experience. Joining that multi-level marketing company introduced me to the world of selling and the social skills I learned during the meetings and seminars taught me precious lessons on public relations.

Lessons which I now teach my staff and constantly apply in my business.

This is what I call, connecting the dots. A concept that I learned from Steve Jobs, CEO and co-founder of Apple Inc., during his commencement address in Stanford back in 2005. In that speech, he said:

You can’t connect the dots looking forward. You can only connect them looking backwards, so you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future. You have to trust in something — your gut, destiny, life, karma, whatever — because believing that the dots will connect down the road will give you the confidence to follow your heart, even when it leads you off the well-worn path, and that will make all the difference.

Below is the video of that speech. I suggest that you watch it in full specially if you’re looking for motivation to continue with your current endeavors or if you think that you’re life seems to be going nowhere. The personal stories he shared contains a lot of memorable lessons on work, business and life.

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