I met a man the other day who said something in passing that perked up my ears.  He said that as a father of four kids, the only constant in life is impermanence.  Man, is he right.  Not only is he correct, the statement he made applies to parents, but it also applies to the economic times we are experiencing right now as well.

The secret in this subject is to have a sense of peace with impermanence.  Many of us say things like, “If ‘X’ happened, everything would be all better.”  This kind of statement gives ownership of our sense of well being to something outside of ourselves.

I’m not saying that we operate in a vacuum, and we don’t get tipped over by life now and again, but it’s the people who are in a constant search for happiness outside of themselves who never find it.  Joy comes from within, no matter what is happening in our lives.

I’m writing this as much to myself as I am to you because I need reminders of this now more than ever.  As the provider for my family, the pressure is really on right now.  This economy and where it’s going has left me feeling pretty vulnerable.  Along with the enormous amount of time and money promoting the book ONO has cost, my cash flow stinks, and right now more than ever, cash is king.

Yet, even as I write this, I feel blessed because I have this blog to get the negative stuff out of my system and put it out there for the world to see.  The result is that I feel better by just voicing my concerns.  The peace for me comes when I let my worry have a voice.  Business buddies of mine are usually my sounding boards.  My wife, God bless her, has so much on her plate on a daily basis that when I voice my business worries, she goes into a tail spin.  I rarely dump on her.  I feel blessed to have business friends who will listen when I need it.

The secret to serenity within the bubble of impermanence is to have outlets for the feelings that come with it.  When we shelve them, they sometimes come up at the wrong time and to the wrong people, the ones we love.  The other thing these feelings do is to push us to make rash decisions in business just to be rid of them.  Know what your outlets are and take advantage of them when necessary.  We all experience these stresses in life and in business; the key is to not let them linger or tip us over.