Christmas tree 'vomit'.

Christmas means trees - Christmas trees to be precise.

I love putting up the decorations but I have 1 hard and fast rule - well 2 actually.

They cannot go up until 1 Dec and they must be down 1 Jan. This is a family rule as my daughter's birthday is 4th Jan and I refuse to share her special day with Christmas.

The unspoken rule is that the decorations must be colour co ordinated and if any thing is 'arranged' in a haphazard way - then it needs to be deliberately skewed just so. Yep I am a little OCD.

What really made my week this week was when I arrived home from a business trip AFTER the 1st Dec and the tree was not only arranged but sparkling in a sea of beautiful silver and blue baubles with bright white twinkly lights. My daughter had culled all the ugly non matching tinsel and created a 'winter wonderland' right in my living room. By herself. My heart leapt.

Then - later in the week in stark contrast - I was leaving a client's home office - the client's wife was sitting near the front door , placating a grumpy 5 o'clock toddler near the Christmas tree. I stopped to chat and couldn't help but notice the decorations that had seemingly 'vomited' all over the tree. There was christmas chaos right there - and I thought it was beautiful.

Real, natural and authentic.

The frustrated tired mother expressed her dismay at how un perfect her tree was and that just made me smile even more.

You see - people want this perfect life, perfect business, perfect experience. Often they will delude themselves until they get it. They put up walls, the deflect and they lie to themselves.

My business is not perfect. Am I good at what I do ? Yep I'd like to think so but there are times in my business when I truly suck at the business part.Let me show you how :

Lately I have been looking at my work space and thinking that I want the perfect space - not the paperwork 'vomit' that inevitably exists in the space. I want the colour co ordinated decor - the clean fresh desk with a succulent pot plant and an candle and maybe even a laptop. Mac of course.

But just like that mother with the christmas tree vomit - that is not my business reality.

My business reality means I get down in the trenches - there are files, paperwork, shredded paper, clips, bags, paper , sticky notes etc etc etc

I don't have the luxury of a reception nor a file room but what I do have is a team who laugh, joke till we cry and inhabit a space that enables is to serve our clients. It doesn't stop me wanting the perfect christmas tree. In fact my next step is to be able to create a space where I am out of the war room and able to fulfil my OCD soul. A calm area to think, process and just be.

As business owners we tell ourselves many lies - as humans we do too - we all want the best tree, the best Christmas feast, the awesome presents and the enviable summer holiday or vacation. We will post photos on social media and drool over the others who seemingly have the perfect Christmas trees without vomit in sight!

In our businesses we lie to ourselves daily about the profit, the cash flow and the reality. We want perfection but perhaps our business doesnt give us what we want.

Why do we do it ? Pride, perhaps fear but what we don't want to accept is the reality.

So how do you let go of perfect Christmas and embrace the Christmas 'vomit' as your reality?

In business I believe that there is what you want, what you have and what you can acheive.

1. What do you want ? More clients, more income, bigger reputation, ability to sell the business ?

2. What do you have ? How is the profit looking ? What is the cash flow? Do you have the right products or services - are you fitting a need in the market ?

3. What can you achieve? Where are your cash reserves, your time reserves, your energy. How can you place them in a position to maximise the reality?

I want a LOT - I want to laugh, cry and be authentic. Most of all I want to be that Mum who embraces the 'not so perfect christmas tree' because it is where she is now - knowing that one day those toddlers will grow up and she can have the 'perfect' Xmas tree she wants. I want my business to be perfect - but most of all this Christmas I just want it to be real.

Let's spend a few weeks off with our loved ones and then re visit our business reality - bring on 2018 so we can assess

What you want

What you have and most importantly

What you can achieve ??