I just found out last week that sometimes the best place to go to work on your business is a thousand feet up. I was in Mesa, Arizona for a Business Planning retreat, staying at a nice resort in a two-bedroom condo with my laptop connected with Go To My PC so it was almost like I was sitting in my office back in Orange County, California. I spend most of the fourth quarter helping my coaching clients create their Business Plan for the new year, that I have found January is the best time for me to really look at my own business.
Even with the great accommodations at the resort, I still felt like I need to “get away” even more as I was doing some of my serious goal planning. You see, I set HUGE Goals for myself, and the only way for me to do that, is to get away from the day to day distractions. Being at the resort was still a little too connected to my email, my virtual assistant and my Blackberry. So, in order to get in the right frame of mind, I decided to go for a hike on Sunday.
Now granted, I took my Blackberry with me, (they’re addictive, if you haven’t heard) and even had coverage half way up the mountain on my 5 mile hike. It did allow me to take some great photos from the top. I tried to email them, that is how I realized I didn’t have service up there. But what I did find up there was something I really needed! Perspective.
When you are standing at the top of a mountain and look down, the houses and roads disappear. All you see are valleys and hills and rocks and cactus. Lots and lots and lots of beautiful cactus. In fact, more cactus than this Minnesota native has ever seen before. Who knew that desert vegetation could be so green and flowering and beautiful? It is amazing what a little rain does to the desert. It is also funny the pictures I had in my head about what the desert was before spending this much time hiking in it.
I did the first hike to get a little exercise, but I soon found out that I was getting more clarity and more things worked through on my hike, than at any other time that week. So I went on three more hikes that week. The beauty and adventure of the Arizona desert was addicting, but so was the amazing clarity and perspective I got concerning my business and my life goals while on those hikes.
When the normal distractions disappear and you truly get away from it all, it is amazing the clarity you can get. Now you might not be able to get away to the mountains of Arizona, although, I would highly recommend it, but where can you go to get way from everything? Away from the Blackberry, the email, the phone, the kids, everything?! I encourage you to find that place. Maybe it is a hike or walk near your house, maybe it is a bubble bath, and maybe it is beach in a warm part of the world. Wherever you find perspective, go there often!