Diana Long

One of my passions that gives me tremendous joy is traveling.

I love to explore what’s new to me — change my routine, and learn and see new things. Traveling enriches my life. What I have come to learn is that those things which enrich me also enrich my business. There’s a direct link between levels of happiness to positive outcomes such as higher levels of productivity and prosperity. What I know to be true is that when I am at my personal best  and living my  passions,  it translates into direct benefits for my business. Enthusiasm is contagious

A while back, on the “Where Will Our Daughter Go to College-The USA Tour”, we visited the Seattle area. One of the coolest hotels I’ve been to in a long time is  the Hotel Murano in Tacoma, Washington. The hotel is quite distinctive carrying a very modern theme throughout the hotel including lots of  gorgeous  glass art, including Dale Chilhuy. Every floor features a celebrated artist and choice pieces of glass art.  If you are in near the Seattle area, it’s worth a side trip to Tacoma’s Murano Hotel.

There was more to enjoy. I loved stepping  into our beautifully appointed room. As I checked out all the special amenities and  noticed three small signs by the phone. One  placard  entitled  The Spiritual Menu, which listed  various spiritual resources including the Bhagavad Vita, the Torah, and the Bible among other choices. To enjoy our own spiritual book, we simply need call, request the book of our choice and have it delivered to our room. In addition to the Spiritual Menu, there was a Pillow Menu, (don’t you love it) and a Room Service Menu. (The room also sported an iPod docking station, which was promptly confiscated by our daughter.)
Having options is a beautiful thing isn’t it?

My husband, daughter & I had choices about what we liked and which made for a very happy little family during that hotel stay. We reveled in the choices available to us. There’s a freedom we all enjoy when we have the power of choice and we have options to choose from.

It’s easy to get stuck in our routines both personally and in our work.

In business this could show up like this:  We continue to offer the same “tired” product/service to the marketplace and then scratch our heads & get frustrated by lack of interest and declining sales.

In our personal life, it could show up like this: We get into a “comfortable” routine with our partner, start to take them for granted and the relationship starts to feel stagnant.

While some our daily routines are a very good thing and help us to be our best( eg oral hygiene, nutritious meals & exercise) and  certain best practices  in business help us to run our businesses smoothly and smartly ( eg accounting& contact management systems). I say don’t ditch those beneficial routines.

However… do look at what you could do to expand your own choices and breathe more creativity and life …