We’re driving way out in the country last weekend, Dominic and I, when I went over a series of smallish dips in the road that made the car bounce like crazy.
“Love those whoop-dee-doos!” D sang out gleefully.
“Whoop-dee-doos?”
“Yeah… whoop-dee-doos. What do YOU call ‘em?”
Well, at the time, I would have called them “a series of dips in the road that made the car bounce like crazy,” (go figure) but now, I mean, how can I resist calling them whoop-dee-doos?
So what does this lovely tale have to do with your business? Glad you asked, my friend.
It’s cause business is just like that. You’re cruising along, doing your stuff, and everything’s fine, and suddenly, without warning, you hit whoop-dee-doos that make you bounce like crazy.
Some people, when hitting whoop-dee-doos, get stuck right there. Rather than dealing with the few seconds of bouncing, they behave more like what they hit was a bloody sink hole. They exclaim and exclaim about the bouncing and the dipping, and it goes on and on for so long that they’re incapable, really, of noticing that road is again flat and smooth.
Bit O’Moxie: To survive, and more importantly, to thrive in business, long-term, you can’t be one of those people. Whoop-dee-doos can’t (and don't) last forever. And they don’t come so frequently as to be the norm. They are, in reality, just little bumps in the road, to be ridden over and forgotten. So instead of going to a place of upset (or drama), be the person who, like Dominic, exclaims, (c’mon…do it with me) “Love those whoop-dee-doos!” and smiles and laughs before getting on with the smoothness that’s returned. It will quite possibly change how you experience challenges forever!
What a great post. Just for the record, whoop-dee-doos is the appropriate name for those bumps. :)
I love the way you have tied this in with biz. You are so right. I'm amazed at the small whoop-dee-doos that some people get stuck in. No drama for me...thank goodness. Unless, of course, it's success drama. I can get pretty excited and goofy when good things are happening.
Posted by: LauraJo Richins | September 15, 2009 at 01:28 PM
That is THE PERFECT email for my day today. Glad I read it today instead of yesterday because it wouldn't have resonated nearly so well!
Last night and today have seen the "dips" and I've been trying to shake them off to move forward rather than skidding off into the ditch as I might have in the past. Thinking of them as whoop-dee-doos has helped change my frame of mind and thus my outlook. Timing is everything!
Posted by: Jennifer | September 15, 2009 at 06:05 PM
This post is very timely for me. I just had a conversation with a client who has decided to go a different route (a whoop-dee-doo) and hire an in-house person. This sends me on a bump in the road that makes the car dip like crazy. I'm a little nervous, and excited all at the same time!
xoxo
AA
Posted by: Antonette Artiz | September 22, 2009 at 02:09 PM