Paul Principal Example | “I’m going to Hawaii, D@mn it!”

It’s been said and quoted so often, I’m not too sure who to attribute it to, but that doesn’t mean it’s not 100% true:

“Wherever you go, there you are.”

My version of which is:

“Wherever you go, look down, those are YOUR feet.” And no, there’s no way to get a different pair, not even for vacation.

One of the fun things about running a business I care about, is noticing things in unexpected places. (The ‘work’ of noticing what you care about isn’t work.)

As we waited for boarding to commence at the airport in Calgary the other week, I couldn’t help but look on, in boggle-eyed bafflement while:

- a husband and wife bickered nastily about where the sunblock should go, in the left side pocket of the hubby’s backpack or the right hand side (really!)

- a dad marched a 5 or 6-year old out of the waiting area, dragging her as she screamed at the top of her lungs (you know the kind of dragging where the child’s feet stops touching the ground and they are being carried by one arm, who knows where?)

- a whole section of Maui-bound Calgarians sat crabbily in the waiting area, not a single smile in sight (honest, i looked twice at each face)

In another spot, there was one group of four thirty-something women – obviously friends – who were laughing and smiling and talking excitedly about beaches, and they were the center of attention for the whole room. Almost as if they were the television set. (So that’s how to be happy.)

In the meantime, my inside voice is saying:

What is this ‘get me to Hawaii and I’ll turn on my happy-face’ mentality?

‘Everyone get out of my way, I’m going to Hawaii, damnit!’

Take the jam-packed ice-cream store we were in as another example.

“I don’t know what all these other people are doing but *WE* are next.” says the lady, two children in tow.

Really. “Well, please be my guest. Go ahead, and I hope you enjoy your ice cream?!!”

Now, how does this relate to your business?

Well, as a business coach, I wonder, how is ‘who you are’ when nobody is looking, affecting how well you’re doing in business?

(When nobody is looking = when you’re waiting in the airport; in the privacy of your home; at your angriest, most depressed, most certifiable…etc.)

My friend Elyse said something today, about a great question she heard asked, “Would I be better off working on my business, or working on myself?”

The answer, of course, is ‘yes.’

No matter where we go, there we are. And no matter how much work you’re doing on your business, there you are. So make sure you’re working on yourself, as much as you are on your business.

This doesn’t need to be hard. For most people, in fact, it’s the opposite. It’s about stripping all the masks, messages and baggage away, and getting reconnected to what’s easy.

Many of you are familiar with the Peter Principal. “In any given business, an employee will tend to rise to his level of incompetence.”

Here’s what I call the correlating Paul Principle in brief:

“In any given business, the growth of the business will depend on the level of the business owner’s personal development.”

As we seek together to pursue lives rich with meaning AND money, work and leisure, activity and rest, do you have ‘different selves?’

Who are you when (you think) nobody is looking?

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